


A Plug and His GDI

by jacktbfh



Category: K-pop, SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fraternity, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, College, Drug Use, Drugs, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Fraternities & Sororities, Greek Life, Hazing, Humor, M/M, Partying, Recreational Drug Use, Smut, Underage Drinking, Yikes, im so sorry mom, lil bit of school, side 95 line, side junhao, side soonhoon, side verkwan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-10-03 05:14:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 90,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10236665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacktbfh/pseuds/jacktbfh
Summary: Mingyu didn't know what to expect when he decided to rush, but it sure as hell wasn't this.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in a sorority, and I have a friend who's in a frat who told me about two guys who were in rival frats a few years ago that fucked and fell in love and I was like yes. Perfect. Let's write a fanfic. So here is my 6:00 am induced Meanie trash shining through. Hope you like it!!!
> 
> **Like all of my other stories, this is not beta'd. Point out any mistakes if you wish, and I'll fix them!

Mingyu has been at Pledis University for exactly one year, and so far, the only relevant things he’s learned is that 8 a.m. classes were created by the devil himself, and that the Chick-fil-A line in the student center is always the busiest after the noon classes get out. Needless to say, he’s still an Undecided, and his parents are still very much disappointed in him. 

His freshman year of college was a complete bust, to put it lightly. All it really consisted of was failing all of his classes, consuming way too much fast food, and lounging around in his dorm room. And unfortunately, he’s the only one to blame for it, no matter how much he wants to put it all on Minghao.

While Mingyu decided he was going to be a God Damn Independent the moment he set foot on campus, Minghao took a different approach, and rushed a fraternity the minute he could. Which  _ would _ have been fine, except that left Mingyu without his own personal tutor and source of entertainment for the majority of the year, so it wasn’t. And that’s why Mingyu finds himself standing in the middle of a rush event party, on a Thursday night, during the first week of his sophomore year of college.

He’s currently watching as Minghao receives a lap dance from the recruitment chair of some sorority on campus, which Mingyu has already forgotten the name of. It’s only 11:30 and his lack of memory should be concerning, but Mingyu doesn’t really care. He doesn’t have to go to his 9:30 anyways, the professor doesn’t take attendance.

“Hey.” a voice suddenly says next to him, turning Mingyu’s attention away from Minghao. He’s only watching because he doesn’t know anyone else at the party, and he’s slightly annoyed that his best friend left him alone.

“Hi.” Mingyu drawls out, holding his hand out to the guy for a handshake. He throws on a smile and tries to look friendly, because that’s what Minghao told him to do.

“Mingyu, right?” the guy questions, shaking his hand. “Minghao’s best friend?”

“Um, yes.” Mingyu replies, holding his breath a little. Minghao only talks about him when he’s telling an embarrassing story, so he’s not sure what to expect.

“Can you really shotgun two Four Lokos in under 2 minutes?”

Mingyu snorts, and nods his head. Of course Minghao would tell that story to his fraternity brothers. The shorter guy in front of him beams, and claps Mingyu on the shoulder.

“Gotta see it sometime, man. I’m Seungcheol by the way.”

Mingyu tries to contain himself, but really can’t help it, and immediately tense up under the older’s gaze. Seungcheol is the  _ president _ of Kappa Mu, and Mingyu doesn’t understand why his best friend tells important people these things. He’s just thankful the dude is cool, and hasn’t thrown him out yet.

“Um, okay.”

“Hey, don’t look so nervous.” Seungcheol pats his shoulder again, and then retrieves his hand. “I’m not supposed to bid promise, but I’d be expecting something soon if I were you. Nice to meet you, kid.” Seungcheol throws him one last smile and then retreats back into the crowd, grinning and shouting at people as he goes. Mingyu just stares until someone clears their throat from behind him, causing him to whirl around and almost spill his drink.

“What did Seungcheol want?” Minghao asks, his face beat-red and his neck slick with sweat. Mingyu snorts at him.

“Bid promise.” Mingyu shrugs. “Where did Sally from Apple Cherry Pie go?”

Minghao rolls his eyes up at the older, and then begins to make his way to the back of the basement, where the makeshift bar is.

“Your jokes aren’t funny anymore, especially now that you’re joining a frat.”

“My jokes are always funny.” Mingyu downs the rest of what’s left in his cup and then sidles up behind Minghao, waiting in line to get his next cup of  _ whatever. _

“Sure.” Minghao holds his cup out, and the guy pouring the jungle juice smiles at him before filling it up. “We were told if we bid promised, we’d have to be a sober driver for a month.”

Mingyu shrugs again, and hands his own cup over. “He’s the president, he can do whatever he wants.”

“True.” Minghao mumbles as he walks back over to the mass of people crowding the dance floor. Mingyu thanks the bar attendant and then follows, trailing close behind his best friend.

This isn’t his first college party. He went to all of the rush parties with Minghao last year, but after bids were given out and pledges were declared, he wasn’t let back in. Cons of being a GDI. So he’s not unfamiliar with the atmosphere, but it’s still a little uncomfortable, especially because a new girl tries to dance on him every 5 minutes. Minghao accepts it, Mingyu just stands there and looks awkward. Minghao coached him the week before and told him to go with it, in order to look  _ cool _ in front of the other brothers that would be voting on him, but after Seungcheol’s confession, Mingyu isn’t really concerned. He just politely declines the offer and shuffles away, finding someone new to talk to or something else to focus on.

This time, after pushing away a rather  _ eager _ blonde, it’s one of the other rushees Mingyu has come to know quite well, Vernon. Vernon’s a freshman who’s majoring in Business, and really, he’s one of the only people Mingyu has clicked with. The younger smiles at him and then nods his head sideways to a group of drunken girls, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

“When does this thing get over with?” Mingyu asks him, starting up a conversation over their obvious shared uncomfortableness. Vernon just shrugs at him and then leans up against the wall, visibly sighing.

“I don’t know.” he pauses, leaning his head back. “Have you seen Seungkwan? He left me like 30 minutes ago, I can’t find him.”

Mingyu shakes his head ‘no’, because he hasn’t seen the younger blonde. Seungkwan is Vernon’s best friend from high school, Mingyu has gathered, and if he hadn’t previously seen Vernon making out with a girl Tuesday night at another rush event, he would have assumed the two were together.

“Fuck.” Vernon groans and pushes himself off of the wall. “I have to find him, man. He was super drunk.”

“Maybe he went home with someone?” Mingyu offers. Vernon gives him a look, and then shakes his head, heading towards the stairs leading out of the basement. Mingyu quickly glances around the vicinity, doesn’t see Minghao, and then follows after Vernon, his pace quickening while he tries to keep up.

“He wouldn’t.” Vernon says as they head up the stairs. He lifts his cup to his mouth and gulps the rest of the alcohol down, and Mingyu doesn’t really know what’s happening but he does the same, and then the two of them throw their cups in the trash bin once they reach the top of the stairs. There aren’t that many people lingering outside, Mingyu notices, and he chalks it up to the fact that it’s almost midnight. Minghao told him most pre-pledge parties don’t go past 12:30.

“He probably went to Theta Phi.” Vernon groans, shaking Mingyu out of his thoughts. “I’m going to go look for him. Want to come?”

Mingyu doesn’t have anything better to do, and his best friend keeps abandoning him, so he shrugs and nods his head. He doesn’t necessarily need to rush any other frats, he pretty much already has a spot in Kappa Mu, but he’d still like to see the Theta Phi house. It’s arguably the nicest frat house on campus.

The party he and Vernon are at isn’t at the Kappa Mu house, because that’s strictly  _ against the rules _ (doesn’t stop them once midterms hit, though), so they have to walk a pretty good distance to get to the Theta Phi house. Most of the frats are having parties tonight, and Mingyu really didn’t pay attention at orientation, but Theta Phi is doing something else. They’re the ‘good frat’ on campus, or whatever, and hardly throw parties, choosing instead to actually do community service work and keep their GPAs up. Mingyu can’t relate.

They make it back to campus after about 15 minutes of walking down sketchy, dimly lit streets, and find Greek Row only a few minutes later. They pass by most of the sorority houses first, which are bigger and nicer than any of the frat houses, and then come up on Kappa Mu’s house, before continuing down the street to Theta Phi. It’s the second to last one, and even though they aren’t hosting a party, the house is still pretty obviously populated. There are a lot of girls standing around too, which Mingyu doesn’t really understand at his level of tipsy-ness, but he goes with it.

They make their way up to the porch of the house, passing everyone that’s on the lawn, and then because the doors are open, they walk into the foyer. Mingyu is met with a large chandelier and a banner that reads ‘Beta Theta Phi’, and then a lot of people, all mingling around. He looks at Vernon, who just shrugs, and then makes his way deeper into the house, peering around for Seungkwan as he goes.

Mingyu doesn’t look for Seungkwan, he figures Vernon has that covered, instead choosing to take in the house and it’s occupants. Like he noticed before, there are a lot of girls, but there are also a lot of guys, a lot of them being those that Mingyu recognizes from orientation. He spots a kid named Chan, who graduated high school a year early, talking to some significantly short guy with pastel pink hair over by the kitchen. He almost makes his way over to them, just because he can, but then Vernon pulls on his arm and tugs him up the front stairs, leading them to the bedrooms.

“We need to look in these.” Vernon instructs, throwing open the first bedroom door he finds. Horrified, Mingyu gapes, standing frozen in the middle of the hallway.

“Isn’t that a bad idea?”

“No? He wasn’t downstairs, maybe he’s up here.”

“Or he’s not here? Vernon, I don’t think we should-”

“He’s not in this one.” Vernon ignores him and continues down the hallway, throwing open all of the doors on the left side of the hallway. Mingyu eventually sighs and goes along with it, because it’s not like he has a choice at this point, and helps by searching the right side of the hallway.

The first two doors come up empty, literally no one is in them, so Mingyu moves on to the next one. He grabs the doorknob and thrust the door open, trying to make it quick, but is shocked still when he sees a boy sitting on the floor by the window. He has a pipe in his hand, a lighter in the other, and is staring up at Mingyu, obviously annoyed.

“Um.”

“Do you need something?” the guy’s voice is deep and croaky, and Mingyu doesn’t have to think too hard to realize what he’s doing. It’s right in front of him.

“Have you seen Seungkwan?”

“Who?”

Mingyu sighs. He can feel his face heating up.

“Um. Short. Er, shorter than me. Blonde hair. Kind of loud?”

“No?” the guy says. Mingyu just nods, but he doesn’t move, until the kid waves his pipe around in the air and glares at him. “Dude, do you mind? I’m kind of busy.”

“Right.” Mingyu moves suddenly, and he means to shut the door quickly and continue down the hallway, but instead he shuts himself in the room. He may be more drunk than he originally thought.

“What the fuck?”

“Sorry, I…” Mingyu suddenly doesn’t know how to speak. The guy is glaring at him still, and it only takes a few seconds for Mingyu to realize how attractive he is. He has jet black hair, and round glasses, and is wearing a large sweater and black skinny jeans, and he just looks  _ hot. _ Mingyu is as gay as they come, and the man sitting in front of him is confirming that.

“Are you drunk?”

“Yes.”

The guy sighs, and set his pipe down. “Are you rushing?”

“Yes.”

“Shouldn’t you be downstairs then?”

“No.” The guy gives Mingyu a look. “I’m getting a bid to Kappa Mu.”

The guy crinkles his nose, obviously is disgust, and then sighs. “Then why are you here?”

“I’m looking for Seungkwan.”

“Haven’t seen him, man.”

Mingyu nods again, but he doesn’t make a move towards the door. He just stares down at the guy, who stares back up at him, same annoyed look on his face. Mingyu finds it attractive, despite the fact that it’s aimed towards him. The guy has a really cute nose.

“Do you need anything else?”

“You’re attractive.”

The guy’s eyes widen, as do Mingyu’s, because apparently his brain-to-mouth filter isn’t currently working. He notices that he’s swaying a little and wonders why the jungle juice is  _ just _ now hitting him, and why life hates him.

“Thanks.” Mingyu watches as the guy flushes, and then he picks his pipe back up, lighting it up right then and there in front of Mingyu. He takes a hit and then holds it in front of him, inviting Mingyu to it.

“Want a hit?”

Mingyu has only ever smoked joints before, but a cute guy is offering, so of course he’s going to take it. He nods and makes his way over to the other boy, taking the pipe from him and sitting down across from him. The guy hands him the lighter and Mingyu stares at it for a second before looking back up, sighing.

“How do you work this?”

“Jesus, really?” the guy laughs and takes the lighter back. He leans forward and motions for Mingyu to put the pipe against his lips, and then lights it for him. Mingyu doesn’t know what to do but he inhales, and he doesn’t really get a hit, but he hands the pipe back anyways.

“Why are you up here looking for Seungkwan?” the guy asks as he takes the pipe back. Mingyu watches him so he can do it right the next time, and then looks back up at his face, shrugging.

“We lost him.”

“Yeah, clearly.” Cute-guy laughs and hands the pipe back. Mingyu figures he can do it himself this time, so he tries, and labels it a success when he actually gets a hit. He coughs only a little bit, handing it back as he sucks in the breaths.

“My friend said he might be up here.” Mingyu explains. His head feels foggy and his legs feel heavy, but he ignores it in favor of staring at the guy in front of him.

The way he purses his lips against the pipe does things to Mingyu, and he shifts on the ground, making himself more comfortable.

“I’m Mingyu.”

“Wonwoo.” Cute-guy/Wonwoo introduces as he breathes out, smiling a little. “So, Kappa Mu?”

Mingyu takes the pipe, hits it, hands it back.

“My best friend is in it.” he shrugs. Kappa Mu has the ‘party’ reputation on campus, and is arguably the most popular fraternity with the girls. He can see why others might not approve.

Wonwoo nods as he takes another hit, and then taps the lighter against the bowl, sighing.

“You caught me at a bad time. I was almost done, there’s none left.”

Mingyu waves him off.

“S’okay.” Mingyu mumbles. He probably doesn’t need it anyways, his tolerance with weed isn’t up at all and he’s already pretty drunk.

“Yeah.” Wonwoo laughs and leans over to a desk, pulling some bubble wrap off of it as well as a small jar and a grinder. He wraps the pipe up in the bubble wrap and then places all three items into the bottom drawer of the desk. Mingyu watches him the entire time, following his hands and their movements. He has nice hands, he decides.

“How old are you, Mingyu?” Wonwoo asks, leaning back up against the wall. He leans his head back and closes his eyes, letting out a sigh.

“19. ‘M a sophomore.”

“GDI last year?”

Mingyu smiles and nods, before realising that Wonwoo still has his eyes shut.

“Yeah.”

Wonwoo opens his eyes and peers over at Mingyu, a small smile on his face.

“You’re attractive too.”

Mingyu grins, his face undoubtedly turning a bright red. He never has control over it when he’s drunk, especially when cute guys are telling him he’s attractive.

“Yeah?”

Wonwoo nods.

“You know, one thing on my bucket list is to fuck a frat guy.” Mingyu says before he realizes what he’s thinking and can shut his mouth. Wonwoo just stares at him for a few moments, a calculating look in his eyes, before he surges forward and places his lips on Mingyu’s.

Mingyu is frozen for a good 15 seconds, and then he comes to, kissing Wonwoo back with about as much force as he can muster. Which isn’t a lot, but luckily Wonwoo takes the reigns, pushing up his shirt and feeling up Mingyu’s body.

They’re still on the floor, and Wonwoo must realize it the same time Mingyu does, because he suddenly stops kissing Mingyu and instead pulls him up off of the ground. He then pushes Mingyu down on a bed, his bed maybe, and then climbs back on top of him and continues with what he was doing. Mingyu just lays there, overwhelmed and turned on, as the guy straddles him and licks into his mouth.

“Jesus Christ, Wonwoo.” a voice suddenly says, causing both Wonwoo and Mingyu to stop. Mingyu tilts his head backwards to look at the door, where the voice had come from, and finds a man standing there, his dress shirt untucked and his hair pushed back. He’s hot as well, Mingyu briefly wonders if he should pledge Theta Phi.

“Get out.” Wonwoo mutters in a dark voice, glaring at the other guy. Mingyu finds it insanely attractive and wants to pull him back down, but doesn’t because he looks on the verge of murdering the other.

“I am, damn. Just getting my pillow and blanket.” The guy walks over to his bed and grabs his pillow and comforter, and then trails back to the door, throwing it open and walking out it. “Don’t touch my shit.” He shuts the door and Mingyu tips his head back forward, looking back up into Wonwoo’s eyes. Wonwoo looks down at him, his eyes flitting over Mingyu’s face, and then dives back down, catching his lips.

They make out for what feels like hours, at least to Mingyu, and nothing really progress until Mingyu quite literally whimpers under Wonwoo’s body and the other pulls away.

“Please take my shirt off.” Mingyu mumbles, and Wonwoo smirks at him, guiding his hand down and pulling Mingyu’s shirt up. Mingyu shivers and grins, letting the other pull his dress shirt up and over his head. Wonwoo then goes to remove his own shirt, revealing silky smooth skin and defined abs. Mingyu about loses it. 

“You’re really hot.” he manages, running his hands down Wonwoo’s front. Wonwoo smirks again and then moves his hand down to Mingyu’s pants, toying with the button and zipper. Mingyu sucks in a breath, holding it in while Wonwoo unbuttons his jeans and pulls the zipper all the way down.

Mingyu lifts his hips on instinct,  _ this isn’t his first rodeo, _ and lets Wonwoo tug his pants off of his legs in one quick, swift motion. He leaves his underwear, though, which is disappointing, but Mingyu forgets all about it the minute Wonwoo starts kissing him again.

Only a few moments pass before Wonwoo starts mouthing at Mingyu’s jaw, and then his neck, sucking and biting and undoubtedly leaving little bruises littered across the side of it. Mingyu doesn’t even mind, lets him do it, because he’s blissed out and having trouble breathing. And then Wonwoo starts palming him through his boxers, and that’s when he bucks up, gasping and losing all control of himself.

“Do you-”

“I don’t care what you do.” Mingyu breathes out, lolling his head back. “Just please get naked and do  _ something.” _

Wonwoo laughs lightly, but complies, removing himself from Mingyu’s front and unbuttoning his own jeans. He tugs them down,  _ with his underwear, _ and Mingyu groans. Wonwoo then climbs back on top of Mingyu, mouthing at his jaw while he works Mingyu’s own underwear off. Mingyu kicks them off of his legs and onto the ground and then shifts, pulling Wonwoo’s face to his own and kissing him again. Wonwoo licks into his mouth and bites his bottom lip, causing Mingyu to gasp and grasp at the back of Wonwoo’s hair.

“Want me to fuck you?” Wonwoo whispers when he pulls away, breathing into Mingyu’s ear. Mingyu gulps and nods, toying with the hairs at the nape of the other’s neck. Wonwoo grins and then leans over Mingyu, grabbing something from his bedside table. Mingyu is very aware of Wonwoo’s dick resting on his thigh, and bites his lip, keeping himself from bucking his hips up again.

“You’re clean, right?” Wonwoo asks when he leans back, a condom and bottle of lube in his hand. Mingyu nods, and Wonwoo sighs, setting the stuff down on the bed next to Mingyu’s head. “Me too.”

“Good.” Mingyu grins. “Now please, continue.” 

Wonwoo chuckles, and as he’s opening the bottle of lube and coating his fingers, Mingyu peers down to take a look at his dick.  _ Just to know what I’m working with, _ he tells himself. He finds that it’s longer than his, but not as thick, and he sighs, preparing himself for whatever is to come. He’s been with others before, but  _ damn. _

Wonwoo doesn’t give him much more time to think before he’s pulling him up the bed and positioning himself in between his thighs, smirking down at him and forcing his legs apart. He pauses before he continues, though, quirking his head to the side and peering down at Mingyu.

“You’re sure, right? You’ll remember this tomorrow? I don’t want to-”

“I’m drunk, and a little bit high, but I’ll remember it. Please fuck me.” Mingyu drawls out. Wonwoo chokes a little, it’s obvious, and then nods, continuing on with what he was about to do. Which is inserting a finger into Mingyu’s asshole,  _ unannounced, _ and causing Mingyu to yelp.

“Sorry.” Wonwoo mumbles, but he doesn’t look sorry at all. Mingyu lets out a shaky breath.

“‘S fine.”

Wonwoo grins down at him and works him open, slowly but steadily, keeping his other hand next to Mingyu’s head, propping himself up. Mingyu lays there and tries to focus on breathing, which is hard, because his dick is twitching and Wonwoo’s is still on his thigh and he has a finger up his ass and he hasn’t done this in so long and  _ God- _

“You good? Can I add another?” Wonwoo asks after a few minutes, leaning down and whispering into Mingyu’s ear. Mingyu nods and closes his eyes, trying not to tense when the other adds another finger and starts again. 

Wonwoo eventually adds two more, until Mingyu thinks he’s good, and then he pulls them out and wipes his hand on his bedsheets before grabbing the lube bottle again. He coats his hand and then begins pumping himself up and down, throwing his head back and letting out a little groan. Mingyu bites his lip as he watches, and then when he really can’t take it anymore, pulls Wonwoo down and starts kissing him again. This time  _ he _ licks into the other’s mouth, and they make out for a few more minutes until Wonwoo pulls away and grins down at Mingyu.

He doesn’t say anything as he lines himself up, pulling Mingyu’s legs up, holding one above his shoulder. Mingyu sucks in a deep breath, preparing himself, and then tenses as Wonwoo pushes in. It’s a lot, he gasps and squeezes his eyes together and wills the tears away, but once Wonwoo bottoms out he sighs and opens his eyes back up.

Wonwoo is staring down at him, concern written across his face, so Mingyu just nods and the other begins moving again, taking it slow. He thrusts in and out at a snail's pace, and usually Mingyu would complain, but he’s thankful.

Things pick up though, and eventually Wonwoo is  _ truly _ fucking him, causing Mingyu to gasp and groan and make all kinds of noises that he would generally be embarrassed about but for now he doesn’t care. He just lolls his head back and scratches at Wonwoo’s back, watching as the other pants and moves his hips.

“You’re really fucking hot, Wonwoo.” Mingyu manages, biting down on his lip.

“You’re really fucking hot too, Mingyu.”

Mingyu groans as Wonwoo hits  _ the spot, _ and he pulls him closer, running his hands through his hair while trying to control his breathing. Wonwoo doesn’t seem to be in any better shape, gasping with each move, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

“I’m close.” he mumbles out, , his breath ghosting over Mingyu’s neck. Mingyu shivers and runs his hands down Wonwoo’s back, nodding.

“Me too.” he chokes out, the ability to speak becoming harder to achieve. His toes curl in as Wonwoo hits the spot again, his hips bucking up to close the distance between them. Wonwoo gets the message loud and clear and begins thrusting harder, one arm next to Mingyu’s head to prop himself up, the other holding Mingyu’s leg in the air.

Mingyu isn’t expecting it, but Wonwoo suddenly pulls out, groaning as he pulls the condom off and begins pumping himself, throwing his head back and gasping. Mingyu watches, nearly cuming himself, as Wonwoo orgasms and shoots his load all over Mingyu’s stomach. That nearly sets Mingyu off, except then Wonwoo leans down and takes Mingyu into his mouth, bobbing up and down  _ like it’s fucking nothing _ in an attempt to get Mingyu off. Mingyu last literally a minute, maybe less, and then he’s cuming, not giving Wonwoo any warning whatsoever. Not that he needs it, though, because he swallows it all, wiping his mouth and then climbing back up Mingyu’s body.

“Holy  _ fucking _ shit.” Mingyu mutters, exhausted, still out of it. Wonwoo smirks down at him and then kisses him, and Mingyu can taste himself, he’s a little bit disgusted but still turned on. He kisses back and runs a hand through Wonwoo’s hair, untangling the knots he himself put there. Wonwoo sighs into his mouth and then pulls away. Mingyu whines a little, Wonwoo laughs at him and then climbs off of him.

Mingyu watches as he pads across his room, butt ass naked, and grabs a t shirt off of his floor. He then makes his way back, but instead of climbing back on top of Mingyu, he takes the t shirt and cleans Mingyu’s stomach off. Mingyu smiles up at him, really not able to move, and only shifts because Wonwoo lays down on the bed next to him after he throws the shirt in a dirty clothes bin.

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.” Mingyu breathes out, sighing. “Fuck.”

Wonwoo chuckles again and doesn’t say anything, just pulls the comforter on his bed over the two of them and then turns on his side. Mingyu takes that his invitation to say, and he’s had enough one night stands to know that conversation afterwards isn’t really a thing, so he bites his lip and turns over on his own side.

He’s out before he can really think about it.


	2. Chapter 2

“You look like shit.” 

Mingyu rolls his eyes as he shuts the front door behind him. Minghao is sprawled out on  _ his _ coach in the front room, wrapped in a  _ his _ university blanket, and is eating a bowl of cereal. It’s 2:30 in the afternoon, and he doesn’t look like he’s showered yet. Mingyu wants to tell him that his appearance isn’t much better, and also wants to ask why he’s in  _ his _ apartment and not in class, but he ignores it.

“Where’d you go last night? Couldn’t find you when you left.”

Mingyu just grunts in repsonse, and makes his way over to the kitchenette. His mouth is incredibly dry, and he’s half starving. He first grabs the Ibuprofen bottle out of one of the cabinets, though, because his head is pounding and he imagines that it’s only going to get worse now that he’s around  _ Minghao. _

“Dude, is that a  _ hickey?” _ Mingyu hears Minghao shuffling around, and within five seconds, the younger is at his side, poking at his neck. Mingyu tries to swat him away but is unsuccessful, and eventually just lets his best friend pester him. Minghao is stubborn when he wants to be.

“Who the fuck gave this to you? Was it Vernon? One of the guys said he saw you leave with him, dude, if you’re already fucking the other pledges-”

“It wasn’t Vernon.” Mingyu rolls his eyes again and shoves his way past Minghao, making his way over to the fridge. Minghao trails after him, and points to a gatorade bottle at the back of one of the racks, which Mingyu grabs enthusiastically.

“Then…?”

“Some guy from Theta Phi.”

_ “Theta Phi?!” _ Minghao nearly screams, shoving at Mingyu’s shoulder. Mingyu scrunches his face up and glares at the younger, rubbing at the sore spot now on his shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Who the fuck was it?”

Mingyu sighs, and he’s about to give it away, but then he remembers his conversation with  _ Wonwoo _ from earlier, and bites his tongue.

 

_ “Here.” Wonwoo says, throwing Mingyu his shirt that had been thrown off the night before. Mingyu catches it and quickly tugs it over his head, noticing that it smells of sex and alcohol. He grimaces and tugs his jeans back on. _

_ “Um.” Mingyu mumbles, looking around the room for his shoes. He finds them next to the bed, one under Wonwoo’s jeans, the other turned upside down. “So.” _

_ “Hey.” Mingyu turns to look at Wonwoo, his face blank. He’s trying to keep his composure. “This was...nice.” _

_ Mingyu has never quite described a one-night-stand as  _ nice _ before, but sure. He nods. _

_ “But...can we keep this on the downlow? I’m not, like…” Wonwoo trails off and it’s obvious he’s uncomfortable, and usually Mingyu wouldn’t question it, but the fact that Wonwoo’s roommate had walked in on them causes him to furrow his eyebrows. _

_ “But your roommate?” _

_ “Jun?” Wonwoo snorts, grabbing a pair of sweatpants out of his dresser and tugging them on. Mingyu watches the entire time, about loses it at the way the other’s thighs flex. “He knows. About me, I mean. But no one else does.” _

_ “Ah.” Mingyu tries his hardest to hold back an eyeroll. Typical closeted frat boy, it kind of reminds him of Minghao. Except Minghao won’t even admit it to himself that he likes dick a little. _

_ “Yeah.” Wonwoo turns back around and faces Mingyu, a small smile on his face. “You’re cool and all, but…” _

_ “I get it.” Mingyu chuckles, and he wasn’t expecting much out of this, but it still kind of stings that the guy is basically telling him to  _ forget _ it. _

_ “Thanks.” Wonwoo sighs, and scratches at the back of his head. “Hey, good luck with Kappa Mu.” _

_ Mingyu does roll his eyes at that. _

 

“Just some guy.” he replies, shrugging. He pushes off of the countertop and starts walking towards the living room, plopping down on the couch while simultaneously downing half of the gatorade. Minghao follows him and flops down right next to him, even though there’s an entire half of a couch left. 

“Yeah, obviously. You wouldn’t touch a girl with a 10 foot pole.” Mingyu glares. “Seriously, who was it?”

“Nobody. It’s no big deal.”

“No big deal? First of all, you’ve only hooked up with one other person since you’ve been here, and second of all, it was a  _ Theta Phi. _ Yeah, that’s a big deal.”  

“Why?” Mingyu side-eyes his best friend, taking another drink. His head is still pounding and quite frankly all he wants to do is sleep.

“Did you tell him you were pretty much a Kappa Mu pledge?”

“Yeah.”

“And he  _ still _ fucked you?”

“Yeah?”

“Jesus.” Minghao breathes out, and runs a hand down his face. “You do know that they’re like, our biggest rivals on campus right?.”

Mingyu rolls his eyes, leaning his head back against the couch. Truthfully, he never really pays attention when Minghao starts ranting about Greek relations, mostly because he never cared. He knows about sorority rivalries because you really can’t escape the srat gossip on campus, but  _ fraternity rivalries? _ Fuck.

“No.” Mingyu confesses, shrugging. “So?”

“Last year Jeonghan and the vice president of Theta got into a fight, and now, like, we don’t talk to them. Ever. We can’t even do service events with them because of the tension.”

Mingyu knows the vice president of Theta Phi, his name is Jihoon and he was in his language of music lecture last year, and he really doesn’t understand how you could get into a fight with the guy because he literally never speaks. Jeonghan always finds a way to medle, though, so maybe that’s why.

“Is it that bad?”

“Yeah. They had a class together, too, and the university had to switch their schedules around for them because they couldn’t come to an agreement of who would be the one to switch out.” Minghao sighs. “Dude, you can’t tell anyone you fucked a Theta. They’ll kick your ass.”

“I wans’t going to in the first place.” Mingyu explains. “He’s not...out.”

“Oh. Well that sucks.” Minghao shrugs, and then leans back into the couch, wrapping himself back up in Mingyu’s blanket. “I only know one Theta, and he’s kind of annoying. His name is Jun and-”

Mingyu really doesn’t mean for his eyes to quite literally bug out of his head, but they do, and Minghao definitely notices because he sits up and whacks Mingyu on the back of his head.

“Ow!” Mingyu yelps, swatting back at the younger. “Stop hitting me!”

“You fucked Jun?!”

“No!” Mingyu screeches, coming up with some kind damage control. He can’t exactly tell Minghao Jun is the guy he fucked’s roommate, so- “I met him before, you know? He welcomed me to the house.”

Minghao leans back, and purses his lips. Mingyu sighs.

“That doesn’t sound like Jun.”

“How do you even know Jun?” Mingyu asks, trying to derail the conversation. He really  _ really _ wants to stop talking about this.

“He’s Chinese.” Minghao shrugs. For some reason, Minghao knows damn near every Chinese person on campus, and Mingyu’s decided to just stop questioning it. He nods and tugs on the blanket Minghao has draped over himself, and then leans sideways on the couch, preparing himself for a nap.

“Why are you here?” he mumbles, closing his eyes and willing his best friend to go away.

“Roommate brought a girl home.” Minghao hates his roommate, it’s been a week and Mingyu is already tired of hearing about it. “Also, here.”

Mingyu feels something hit his thigh, and he lifts his head only slightly to see what it is. It’s an envelop, and he picks it up slowly, confused but he also can’t ask Minghao what it’s for because the younger is halfway down the hallway.

“I’m taking a shower!” he calls. Mingyu ignores him in favor of opening the envelop and peering inside. He finds a placard, and upon reading it, he realizes that it’s his bid card.

He smiles only slightly, and then sets it down on his coffee table, before burrowing his head in one of the throw pillows and falling asleep.  
  


~  
  


Mingyu, in an attempt to  _ figure out what the fuck he wants to do with his life, _ has succumb to taking solely general education courses. Meaning, he’s currently sitting in his introduction to psychology lecture, bored out of his mind and confused as fuck. 

That may have something to do with the fact that he skipped the first three classes, or more specifically the entirety of  _ sylly week, _ but what can you do?

He’s in the middle of texting Minghao about their lunch plans (it’s 2:30, but it’s never too late to eat Subway), when his professor finally catches his attention, and causes him to shove his phone into his sweatshirt pocket. He lifts his head, interested, because it’s an important topic.

“I’ve set aside some time for our Teacher’s Assistants to introduce themselves to you all.” Mingyu glances at the clock at the front of the lecture hall, they have 5 minutes left. “Please give them your undivided attention.”

Mingyu does so because he’s planning on skipping as many classes as he can while still getting a passing grade, and in order to do that he needs to know who the people grading his tests are. Maybe, if he’s nice enough and shows up for study sessions occasionally, they’ll go easy on him.

The first girl is a junior who’s majoring in Pyschology,  _ surprise surprise, _ and who’s just  _ so excited _ to kick the year off with learning. Mingyu decides that he probably won’t attend her study sessions, and blocks her out until the next one introduces themselves.

The second TA is also a junior, another girl, but she’s less enthusiastic than the first and looks about half dead. She explains that she’s also involved with her sorority, so her time is limited, but that she’d love to help anyone who needs it. Mingyu figures her appearance is due to the  _ And The Hell Begins _ party Kappa threw the night previous, and smirks.

He’s about to ignore whoever else is left, and just go for sorority-chick and her laid-back attitude, but then a certain voice catches his attention and he groans. Leave it to his life to serve him the most  _ Hallmark _ movie-esque experiences, because standing at the front of the room, with a nervous smile on his face, is  _ Wonwoo. _

“Hi, I’m Wonwoo.” the boy greets, and waves a little. Mingyu watches as the entire clan of monogram-hat-and-Charle’s-River-pullover girls in the first two rows swoon. He wants to shout that he had this kids dick up his ass not even a week ago just to see their reaction.

“I’m a junior, and I’m majoring in psychology.” Mingyu is glad he finally has an age range to place the guy in. “I’m in a fraternity, Beta Theta Phi-” Mingyu swears one of the girls squeals “-and in the Psychology Honor Society.

“My email is on the syllabus, you can email me whenever and I’d be happy to meet with you. I’m also the one in charge of the study sessions, so I’ll be at every one of those.”

Mingyu is mad that he can’t choose which TA he wants to go to, mostly because Wonwoo looks nice in his chinos and button down shirt and it’s  _ doing things _ to him, but he surpresses his anger in favor of looking normal.

“Thank you, guys. Students, please utilize your resources, these kids are here to help you.” the professor says, all attention back on him. Except for Mingyu’s, of course, because he’s still staring at Wonwoo, who’s taking his seat in the first row on the right wing of the lecture room. He immediately starts talking to the sorority-TA, and Mingyu can’t help that his lip curls up.

The professor lets that class out after that, and Mingyu wastes no time packing his stuff up (his chewed up pen and blank notebook) before he bolts out the back door with the other less-than-interested students. He pulls his phone out of his front pocket and reads Minghao’s lunch confirmation, and then hastily makes his way to the student union, trying to avoid every single person he comes in contact with the best he can.

Minghao is already waiting for him when he gets there, and to Mingyu’s surprise, Seokmin is sitting right next to him. Mingyu is currently having a mental meltdown and he likes Seokmin, he really does, but he hardly knows the kid and he really just wants to rant to Minghao, alone. His discomfort must show on his face, because the moment he sets his backpack down and climbs into the high-top chair, Minghao side-eyes him.

“You look constipated.”

“Thanks.” Mingyu sighs, and flashes a grin at Seokmin. He can’t help but be nice, the kid is the literal embodiment of the sun.

“Are you okay?”

“Um.” Mingyu glances at Minghao, then at Seokmin. Seokmin must clue in because he grabs his backpack off of the ground and stands up.

“Don’t worry, I have to go critique Soonyoung’s dance or whatever anyways.” he flashes his bright-white smile at Mingyu and Minghao, and then throws a wave over his shoulder, walking towards the exit. Minghao shouts a goodbye after him, and then turns to Mingyu, frowning.

“The kid I had sex with, the one from Theta Phi, he’s my psychology TA.” Mingyu explains, jumping right to the chase. He watches as Minghao lifts one eyebrow in question, obviously confused.

“Okay? That’s a gen ed, aren’t there like 300 people in it? He probably won’t even notice you.”

“He’s the lead TA.”

“Ah.” Minghao sighs and nods, understanding. “So your normal academic plan is fucked.”

“Yeah.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, because the professor is kind of a dick so he probably won’t help me himself, and- What are you doing?” Mingyu cuts himself off, watching as Minghao types something out on his laptop that’s placed in front of him. Usually he’s attentative, listens with his ears  _ and _ eyes, but clearly he’s distracted right now and it’s annoying Mingyu.

“Getting onto your account to check the syllabus-” Mingyu hates that Minghao knows him well enough to know his passwords for everything, “-so I can figure out who this kid, because you usually don’t get like this about hook ups.”

Mingyu groans and drops his head down onto the table, covering it with his arms.

“Please don’t say anything to anyone.”

“It’s not like I’m going to fucking announce it at chapter on Sunday, chill out.” Mingyu can detect the eye roll in his best friend’s words. “So I’m guessing it’s not Sarah, or Kayla, but maybe- oh, yes, Wonwoo. Of course you’d find the only other gay Korean in this university.”

Mingyu groans again and kicks Minghao’s shins under the table, willing him to quiet down.

“Wonwoo Jeon, Jeon Wonwoo, time to instagram stalk.” Mingyu lifts his head and watches as Minghao scrolls through his phone, helpless at this point. It’s not like he’s going to tell anyone, though. He’s loyal like that.

“Black hair?” Mingyu nods. “Dude, he’s hot.” Minghao turns the phone so that it’s facing Mingyu and Mingyu nods, confirming that the guy in the photo is, in fact, Wonwoo.

“It’s just going to be awkward if we ever see each other.” Mingyu whines, grabbing his wallet from his back pocket, as well as his phone from his front. He’s starving and figures he can walk and talk, so he climbs off of his chair and turns towards where the Subway is. Minghao closes his laptop and places it back into his backpack before he trails after Mingyu, his own wallet clutched close.

“You don’t  _ have _ to go to the study sessions.”

“I  _ have _ to go to lecture, though, and what if he sees me?”

Minghao snorts. “You’ll go to class maybe once a week, Mingyu, let’s be real here.”

Mingyu doesn’t say anything, but he does silently agree. It still doesn’t help still the restless feeling in his gut.

“Worst comes to worst, you’ll see him, stare at each other awkwardly for like 30 seconds, and then you’ll drop the class because you probably won’t pass it anyways.”

“Such a supportive best friend.” Mingyu drawls out sarcastically, as they enter the Subway line. Minghao just beems at him.

Mingyu really isn’t sure why he’s so hung up on the kid, or why it bothers him that Wonwoo is his TA, but he’s already debating switching out of the class and taking something different. Something about running into the older unannounced makes him nervous, and he doesn’t like the feeling. He’d rather just ignore it and avoid the situation altogether, if he’s being honest.

They finally get their sandwiches after what seems like hours, because despite it being kind of late in the day, it’s still pretty early in the semester and kids have money. Making their way back to the table, Mingyu people watches, taking in all of the different students that are gathered in the student union. People watching is his favorite past time activity, and he finds great joy in silently judging others. Minghao doesn’t share the same interests, which is why he frequently has to snap Mingyu out of his trance, like now.

“What?” Mingyu says, picking the piece of lettuce Minghao had thrown at him off of his shirt. Minghao doesn’t say anything, just points behind him, and Mingyu sighs before he slowly twists in his chair. And  _ just his fucking luck, _ there’s Wonwoo, with a group of boys Mingyu recognizes as Theta Phi’s. There’s Jihoon, whom he knows from the music language class he never went to, and Jun, who he recognizes from  _ that night, _ and then another guy, that Mingyu doesn’t know.

“I feel like I’m living in a fucking K-drama, what the hell.” Mingyu grumbles out, turning back in his chair and trying to hide his face in his hands. Minghao laughs at him and takes a huge bite out of his sandwich, smirking through the whole thing in a way that disgusts Mingyu.

“Should I call them over here?” Minghao jokes, once he’s swallowed his bite. Mingyu glares at him.

“You’re the one who told me Kappa’s and Theta’s don’t talk,  _ so no.” _

“How funny would that be though?”

Mingyu just glares at the younger again, not finding it funny in the least bit. He just eats his sandwich in peace, and only lifts his head once Minghao tells him that the group has picked a table across the seating area, away from them and out of sight.

Which is actually a fucking  _ lie, _ because suddenly Wonwoo comes into view, and he doesn’t look like he’s spotted Mingyu, which is probably why he sits down at the table directly behind them. The other three follow and suddenly they’re only 2 feet away and Mingyu is  _ panicking. _

“You okay? You look a little red. Did you get banana peppers on your sandwich again? Your mother told you not to do that anymore, they cause you to break out into a rash.” Minghao says loudly, leaning sideways because he fucking  _ knows _ it opens the view line for Wonwoo. Mingyu kicks his shin under the table, harder than the last time, and tries his best to murder the younger with his eyes. It doesn’t work and Minghao snickers.

“Oh, shit, my bad!” Minghao exclaims,  _ pretty much yells, _ as he knocks his bag of chips onto the ground. They go everywhere and  _ that’s _ when the group behind them notices, turning around in their chairs to peer at the chaos behind them. Mingyu buries his face in his hands, and if he hadn’t, maybe he would have noticed Jun very obviously checking his best friend out. When he finally does resurface, Jun peers at him, and a flash of recognation goes across his face.

“Hey! You’re the kid from-” he begins, but doesn’t get to finish because Wonwoo throws a cheeto at his face. Mingyu isn’t sure whether to laugh at the fact that Wonwoo is eating  _ cheeto’s, _ or cringe because Wonwoo thought that was the best and most subtle way to get his friend to shut up.

“Geeze, Mingyu, you didn’t have to jerk the table so hard and knock my chips off. You owe me.” Minghao grumbles, his introducation-to-theatre skills being put to use. He turns to the four boys behind him and sighs, shrugging his shoulders. “Sorry if I knocked into your table.”

The one Mingyu doesn’t recognize laughs a little, and waves Minghao off, even though Mingyu is pretty sure Minghao didn’t even touch their table. The short one, Jihoon, looks annoyed, while Wonwoo sits there with a red face, and Jun just continues to look confused.

“I need to go do homework.” Mingyu mumbles once Minghao is back in his chair. He has no homework, it’s the second week and he’s taking introductory classes, but he’d honestly rather be dead than endure any more of this, so he packs his left over food up and picks his backpack up off of the grounf.

“Homework? What homework?” Normally-soft-spoken Minghao asks in a loud voice. Mingyu glares at him, more pleads with his eyes, and then slings his backpack over his shoulder.

“Ah. I see. Enjoy doing psychology!”

Mingyu debates transfering to a different college as he walks away, wonders why he ever picked Minghao to be his best friend, asks himself if anything could ever be possibly more embarrassing. He decides that no, probably not, and quickly stalks towards the exit of the student union, leaving Minghao cackling behind him.

He chances one last look at Wonwoo’s table, and finds the other staring at him, and he dies a little inside before finally reaching the door and pushing it open. 


	3. Chapter 3

The room is silent; nobody moves, Mingyu is pretty sure half of the members aren’t even breathing. He’s not. Every time he glances out of the corner of his eye, he can tell that Vernon isn’t either.

“Good evening, boys.” Seungcheol greets, his gaze stern as he peers out at the group of guys before him. Mingyu has counted every one of them, before Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Soonyoung had arrived, and there are 18 pledges. He only really knows Vernon and Chan.

“You’ve all probably heard the talk,” Seungcheol begins, leaning forward on the teacher’s podium in front of him, “-about pledge hazing.”

Mingyu resists the urge to groan. Pledges are not _supposed_ to talk about what type of hazing they go through, because it’s _illegal,_ but that never stopped Minghao from complaining about it last year. So, yeah, Mingyu has _heard the talk._

“We don’t haze.” Seungcheol smirks, and Mingyu knows damn well they do. His life is about to be _hell_ for the next fifteen weeks, but he signed up for it knowing exactly what he was getting himself into, so he can’t really complain.

“We create a brotherhood.” Jeonghan pipes up from where he’s sat at the table in the front of the classroom, his laptop open in front of him. Soonyoung, who nods in agreement, is sitting next to him on the edge of the table.

“These next fifteen weeks will be a true test for you, and will show us whether you’re worthy of being apart of our brotherhood or not.” Seungcheol explains. Mingyu chances a glance to the two boys sitting next to him. Chan looks mildly excited, for whatever reason; Vernon looks like he’s about to shit his pants.

“I’ll let Soonyoung explain what you guys will be doing first.” Seungcheol points to Soonyoung, who just rolls his eyes and hops off of the table. He takes Jeonghan’s laptop with him and places it on the podium, before nudging Seongcheol out of the way.

“Call me Hoshi.” Soonyoung, _Hoshi,_ greets, grinning out at the crowd before him. Mingyu knows him well, they went to the same high school and Minghao is good friends with him, but he looks like an entirely different person standing in the front of the room. He’s kind of a fluffball outside of fraternity events, but now Mingyu can tell why some of the other pledges are scared of him.

“I’m your New Member Educator.” Soonyoung, _Hoshi,_ pulls a powerpoint up on the laptop, and then turns towards the pledges. “I’m in charge of you until you’re initiated.”

“The first thing you guys are going to do is conduct interviews.” Soonyoung (Mingyu can’t physically call him Hoshi, honestly) explains. He points to Jeonghan, who stands up and grabs a stack of black binders off of the table. Seungcheol grabs the other half of the stack, and then they begin handing them out to everyone. Mingyu is handed one by Jeonghan, who smiles at him, and then continues down the row.

“Most fraternities do this, so don’t complain about it.” Soonyoung instructs, taking one of the binders as an example. “This is to ensure that you know all of your brothers by at least their name.”

“You’re going to have to interview all of the members in the fraternity. There are 50 of us, not including you guys, so you need to ask all of the initiated members the questions in this binder and then have them sign the paper so we know you actually did it. You get two weeks to do this.”

This time, some people actually do groan. Mingyu isn’t one of them, but Vernon is, even though it’s quietly. Mingyu just  flips the binder open and reads the questions on the first page, all of which are valid questions as far as he’s concerned. He really doesn’t think it’s that bad.

“If you don’t get it done, you’ll be dropped.” Soonyoung clicks to the next slide, which reads ‘Sports’. Mingyu actually _does_ groan at this. He remembers Minghao having to go through this, and honestly, he’s not looking forward to it.

“We participate in the intramural sports leagues in this fraternity. Everyone has to participate in something.” Soonyoung flips the slide. “Flag football and floor hockey are always the most popular, so only upperclassmen can play those. Freshman and sophomores get split up and assigned to either soccer or volleyball.”

He flips to the next slide, because the previous one was just a picture of a soccer ball, and Mingyu finds himself reading a list of names. It’s for volleyball, and he’s relieved that his name isn’t on there, because he doesn’t know the first thing about the sport. He doesn’t actually recognize anyone on the list, which is good, because that means that Minghao, Seokmin, Vernon, _and_ Chan are on the soccer team with him.

Soonyoung flips to the next slide, and sure enough, there the five of them are. Mingyu smiles only a little, and then writes it down in the corner of the paper he brought, because he’ll forget it.

“These will be posted to the Gin system, which is the website we use for pretty much everything. I’ll also put them in our Facebook group, along with the schedules. You really can’t weasel your way out of this, so get ready. The only way you can skip is if you have a doctor's note, or you have class.”

“Next order of business,” Soonyoung flips the slide, and Mingyu isn’t sure what else they could possibly have them do at only the first meeting of the semester, “-Pledge Duties.”

“Each one of you gets a pledge duty for the semester, which is also non negotiable. We’ve already assigned each of you to a duty. I’ll call your name out, and then tell you what your duty is. Write it down or something so that you don’t forget it.”

Mingyu sighs and gets his pen ready, dreading whatever they’ve concocted up for him to do. He remembers Minghao’s duty quite clearly; poor kid had to carry around Plank from _Ed, Edd, and Eddy_ for the entire semester. Mingyu still makes fun of him for it, but he’s beginning to regret it, especially because Soonyoung has just told the first pledge that his duty is to be the _Fireplace Pledge._ Mingyu has no idea how sitting in an unlit fireplace, wearing red, and waving your arms around is supposed to help the fraternity, but to each their own.

“Vernon Choi.” Soonyoung calls out, and Mingyu sits up, anticipating whatever they’ve come up with for his friend. “Cha Cha pledge. You’ll be like the website; I’ve given all of the brothers your number, and any time they text you with a question, you have to answer it right then and there. Homework help, random questions, whatever they desire.”

A few guys laugh, and Mingyu tries his best not to, but can’t help it when he cracks a smile and snorts a little. Vernon glares at him immediately, writing his task down in his planner.

“At least it’s not publically embarrassing.” Chan offers from his other side, shrugging. Vernon just sighs and leans back in his chair.

Mingyu listens intently to each and every pledge duty, laughing at the ones that deserve laughter, sighing at the ones he’d hate for himself. He only leans forward when they get to the ‘K’s’, and his name is called.

“Kim Mingyu.” Soonyoung begins, and he _smirks,_ which is why Mingyu internally screams, “-Heely Pledge. You have to wear Heelys for the rest of the semester, and any time one of the brothers calls out ‘Go, Mingyu, Go!’, you must take off on them, no matter where you are or what you’re doing.”

Mingyu is about to _riot,_ dammit, there’s no way, until he notices Vernon and Chan cracking up beside him, doubled over with red faces. He turns to them and glares.

“It’s not funny.”

“It’s fucking hilarious.” Vernon spits out, catching his breath. Chan looks like he’s about to say something, but then Soonyoung calls his name, so he turns forwards, wiping his tears away.

“Lee Chan. Safety Pledge. You have to wear a helmet for the rest of the semester, everywhere. You can only take it off when you’re in your dorm, or if you teacher asks you to.”

Mingyu loses it at that, because at least his is a little subtle. Chan turns a bright red and just nods, before turning towards the other two and sighing.

“I’m sorry I laughed at you.” he says quietly, sighing. Mingyu laughs harder.

“Shit, I thought mine was bad.” Vernon chokes out, half off of his chair. “This is great.”

Mingyu sobers up once Soonyoung moves on to the ‘N’ names, though every time he looks at Chan’s dejected face, he snorts a little. It’s mostly to help himself ignore his own unfortunate duty, though.

Soonyoung finishes a couple of minutes later and then flips the powerpoint, which brings it to the end. Mingyu sighs and starts shuffling his things together, preparing himself to leave, because it is 10:30 and he has an early class. He stops, however, when Seungcheol’s voice booms through the room.

“Hold on!” he calls out, stilling everyone. “Up here we have all of the gear you guys are going to need for your duties, courtesy of the older brothers. Come get it before you leave, so that you don’t use the ‘I have no money to buy it’ excuse. If you don’t get it, you’re out.”

Mingyu groans and collects his things from the table before standing up and making his way down to the front of the room. Chan follows behind, while Vernon moves to exit the lecture hall, claiming that he needs to get back to his dorm to finish some homework. Mingyu, jealous of Vernon’s simple task, angrily takes the pair of fucking _Heelys_ that Jeonghan hands him upon seeing him, and then stalks out of the lecture hall, practically seething.

He doesn’t wait for Chan, which turns out to be fine, because Jeonghan holds him back anyways. Mingyu just makes his way to his car, and then throws the Heelys into the back seat, before climbing in himself and turning the thing on. He pulls out quickly and heads for his apartment, stewing the entire time.

He’s really not sure why he did this to himself, if he’s being honest, but he doesn’t want to back out now, so he goes with it. It’s only fifteen weeks, anyways.  


~

 

“I’m going to fucking kill you.” Mingyu says through his teeth, glaring at his best friend. Minghao throws his head back and cackles, and then opens up his Snapchat app on his phone.

“Go, Mingyu, Go!”

Mingyu would ignore him, because Minghao is a complete _ass_ who doesn’t deserve Mingyu’s attention, but _Soonyoung_ is eating with them and despite his happy-go-lucky personality, he’ll most definitely write Mingyu up if he doesn’t complete his task. So, Mingyu stands up, and then starts wheeling himself down the hallway of the dining hall, before walking back to their table. His face is set in a frown the entire time, and Minghao and Soonyoung laugh at him, especially when he slips trying to sit back down.

“This is quality story content.” Minghao declares as he posts the video to his snapchat story, snickering down at his phone the entire time. Soonyoung leans over and watches it with him, laughing himself while he shovels a forkful of pasta into his mouth.

“Have you seen Chan today?” Soonyoung asks once he’s swallowed, leaning back over and taking a drink. Both Minghao and Mingyu shake their head ‘no’, which has Soonyoung smirking and taking out his own phone. He unlocks it and clicks around a bit before he turns the phone around and shows them something.

It’s a picture of Chan with the helmet on, sitting in one of his lectures, writing furiously in his notebook. Soonyoung and Minghao cackle again, Mingyu just sighs at his friend’s public embarrassment and leans back in his chair.

“You guys got really creative this year.” Minghao announces as he takes a bite of his burger, a bit of ketchup dripping down onto the table. Mingyu scrunches his nose and flicks a napkin his way.

“My class complained that the seniors went too easy on you guys last year, so we redid the whole thing for this year’s pledge class.” Soonyoung explains. Mingyu doesn’t know how carrying around a two-by-four can be classified as ‘going easy’ on someone, but he doesn't mention it.

Minghao is about to say something else, and by the looks of it it was going to be aimed at Mingyu, but instead his eyes light up and he sits up straight. He looks behind Mingyu, and then looks straight at him, smirking.

“No.” Mingyu knows what’s coming, and he hates it. “Please.”

Minghao just smirks again. “Go.”

“No.”

“Mingyu.”

“I swear to God.”

“Go!”

Mingyu throws his head back and groans, but stands up nonetheless, and begins to backup. He places his heels down and begins to wheel himself forward, until he fucking knocks into someone, and hears a crash behind him. He whirls around and is about to apologize, until he comes face to face with Wonwoo, and goes silent.

“What the-” Wonwoo begins, and then looks up himself, meeting Mingyu’s eyes. “Oh. Um.”

“I, uh, sorry.” Mingyu begins, placing his toes back down on the ground. He reaches behind his head and scratches at the back of his neck, the atmosphere going from embarrassing to awkward in about .5 seconds.

“It’s fine.” Wonwoo drawls out. He then looks down, slowly, and notices Mingyu’s heelys. His eyebrows shoot up and he looks back upwards, biting his lip.

“Your shoes.”

Mingyu chances a look at Minghao and Soonyoung, who are both practically on the ground in tears, and then looks back at Wonwoo.

“Yes.”

“Pledge activity?”

After their first new member meeting, Mingyu received an email from Seungcheol, which said that if anyone asked what they were doing when doing their Pledge Duty, they were not to tell them it was an actual pledge activity. Mostly because it’s considered hazing, and the chapter can get in trouble for it, but also because it would be ‘funny’. And because Soonyoung is _right there,_ Mingyu has to come up with something, and quick.

“No.” he answers, his face undoubtedly turning red. “I uh...I’m- they looked cool, and I wanted to try them.”

Wonwoo just smirks and nods. He probably knows what’s up, he was once a pledge himself, but he doesn’t say anything.

“Well, they don’t suit you.” Wonwoo says. He looks down at where he spilled plate was, which has already been swept away by the staff, and then sighs.

“I’m going to go get another plate of food.”

“Okay.”

Wonwoo doesn’t say anything else, he just sighs again and turns around, returning to the food line. Mingyu watches him go, and then turns back to his table, glaring at his ‘friends’ the entire time. They’re both still laughing, Minghao a little red, Soonyoung with tears streaming down his face. Mingyu sighs and picks his backpack up, slinging it over his shoulder before grabbing his empty plate and cup. He starts to make his way over to the trash chute, but is stopped by Minghao’s voice, still thick with laughter.

“Hey Mingyu!”

Mingyu turns around and rolls his eyes, sighing.

“Go-”

“If you finish that sentence, I’ll send all of the pictures I have of you with Plank to _Total Fraternity Move,_ and insist that they get published in an article. I’ll give them your full name and everything.”

Minghao closes his mouth at that, looking a little scared. Even Soonyoung looks intimidated. Mingyu smirks and turns on his heels, careful of the wheels, and stalks over to the trash.

He only slips once on his way out of the dining hall.

 

~

 

Mingyu has been the DD before. He was the DD on Minghao’s birthday last year, and then again on Dead Day’s Eve, because it’s not like he could even get into the parties anyways. Being the designated driver is not a new concept to him, nor does he really mind it. Or so he thought. Now that he’s driving drunk sorority minors around, though, he kind of hates it. Especially because they keep trying to change his music station, and they won’t wear their seatbelts.

He’s just dropped a group of them off at the dorms when his phone rings again. He hasn’t counted how many times it’s rang, he’s just thankful that his parents bought him unlimited minutes before he left for school. Otherwise, he’d be screwed.

“Hello?” he answers, not even looking at the caller ID. He doesn’t recognize any of the numbers anyways.

“Mingyuuuuu!” the voice shouts, and right away Mingyu can tell that it’s Minghao. He can also detect that he’s drunk, which is just _awesome._

“Where are you?”

“At the party, dumbass!” Minghao yells into the phone. Mingyu has to hold it away from his ear so that his eardrum doesn’t blow out.

“Why’d you call me?”

“I need a ride back to the house!”

“Minghao, the house is like a block away.” The party is being held at a different location this week, and it isn’t far from campus, which is why only Mingyu and one other guy are sober driving for the night. “Walk.”

“My legs are broken.” Mingyu would panic, except this is Minghao’s drunk excuse for everything, so he just sighs and leans back into his seat.

“Unbreak them and walk your happy ass back.”

“You’re the worst best friend ever, did you know that?” Minghao drawls out. The background noise is loud, but Mingyu can still detect the hurt in his best friend’s voice. He knows it’s only because he’s drunk, but he groans anyways, throwing his car into drive and pulling away from the curb.

“I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”

Minghao doesn’t even say thank you before he hangs up, which has Mingyu shaking his head, setting his phone back down into the cup holder. He cranks the radio and drives down the road, making his way back to the party house he’d just come from.

It wasn’t his decision to sober drive. Each pledge has to do it once a semester, and he had basically been volunteered to do it at chapter by Minghao, so here he is. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s still hungover from _last night’s_ party, though. He still kind of has a headache and loud noises only make it worse, so every time a screeching girl gets into his car, he goes a little more on edge.

Eventually he makes it back to the house, where the party is dying down and more and more people are starting to leave. It’s 1:00 in the morning, so Mingyu wouldn’t expect anything else, although he’s surprised that this many people have stuck around. Most Saturday night parties don’t last past 12:30.

He doesn’t have to call Minghao to let him know that he’s arrived, because the younger comes barrelling down the drive, Seokmin and Vernon hot on his heels. Mingyu had introduced Vernon to Minghao the day before, and according to their linked arms, they’re now best friends.

“Throw your shit out before you get in.” Mingyu yells out the window once he notices the cups in all three of their hands. Instead of throwing the alcohol into the grass, though, they down it at once, which has Mingyu grimacing as he unlocks the doors. The cups get thrown into a bin set out in the driveway, and then the three clamber their way into the car, slamming the doors shut behind them.

“Take us to _Taco Bell.”_ Minghao says after he has his seatbelt on. Mingyu rolls his eyes at his best friend’s state. Minghao has some kind of paint of his cheek, and his hair is messed up, and his shirt is twisted on his body.

“You said to take you to the house.” Mingyu throws his car into drive and continues down the street, stopping at a stop sign before turning right.

“Now we want _Taco Bell.”_ Vernon leans forward, popping his head in between the two front seats. Mingyu sighs and pushes him back by the forehead, telling him to put his seatbelt on.

“I’m still on driving duty.” Mingyu explains. He was actually done at 1, but he doesn’t want to cart his friends around all night.

“No you’re not.” Seokmin pipes up from the back. Mingyu, who’s mistaken the elder’s drunkenness, groans. He takes a left at the stop light instead of a right, and heads towards the nearest Taco Bell from campus. The other three in the car cheer.

The car ride is silent for the most part, the only noise being that of the radio and Vernon dry-heaving out the window. He doesn’t puke, which Mingyu is immensely thankful for, because he’s not prepared to clean that up. Seokmin just rubs his back while Minghao hands him mints that Mingyu isn’t sure where they came from.

When they get to _Taco Bell_ Mingyu parks his car and turns it off, because he doesn’t trust three drunk guys with burritos to not make a mess. They all get the message and climb out, stumbling as they go but not making much of a scene. Mingyu notices that about half of the student population is in line and sighs, before holding the door open for his friends and then trialing in after them.

They get in line behind a group of four, _very_ drunk girls, who are talking loudly about their friend who’s gone home with a random guy. Mingyu doesn’t have much interest in the conversation, like no-longer-dry-heaving-Vernon does, so he turns instead to see who all is in the lobby.

He doesn’t recognize anyone at first, but then he scans the room a second time, and spots a certain raven-haired boy. He sighs because this is his life now, and then tries to hide himself behind Minghao, because he’s just like that.

It doesn’t work though, because Wonwoo spots him after he’s gotten his food, and after he peers around the room for a second, he begins walking towards Mingyu. Mingyu sucks in a breath and tries to act normal, though he thinks he’s failed because Wonwoo smirks at him.

“Hi.” Wonwoo says upon arriving, his grin bright even though his eyes are hazy. Mingyu can smells the alcohol on him, but he smiles back nonetheless, because Wonwoo has dark skinny jeans on and a button up and looks _great._

“Hey.” Mingyu replies, shoving his sweaty hands into his pockets in case Wonwoo tries to go for a handshake or something. “Um.”

Wonwoo suddenly looks down at Mingyu’s feet and smirks, before looking back up at Mingyu’s face and laughing.

“No heelys?”

Mingyu had argued that they would ‘interfere with his driving’, so therefore he could not wear them for the night, but he’s not about to tell Wonwoo that so he just shrugs.

“They didn’t suit me.”

Wonwoo bites his lip and Mingyu about slams himself into the wall, right then and there.

“No, they didn’t.”

Mingyu’s face turns pink, he knows it, but he refrains from saying anything stupid and just shrugs again. He then notices that Wonwoo is alone, as far as he can tell, and scrunches his eyebrows together.

“Are you here by yourself?”

“Yeah.” Wonwoo holds up his bag. “I needed a quesadilla, and Jun wouldn’t go with me because he puked up an entire bottle of Sky.”

Mingyu grimaces at the word _Sky._ He can stomach most everything, but Sky? Too many nights of chugging the stuff in his friend’s basements for him to be fond of it still. He can’t even smell it anymore, let alone drink it.  

He’s about to say something in response about how he can relate, but then a hand on his arm tugs him forward, and he’s startled silent. He looks down as Vernon drags him, closing the gap they’ve left in the line. They’re only four people from the cashier now, which is good, because Minghao is whining like a child about needing a Baja Blast.

Mingyu turns his attention back to Wonwoo, who’s moved with them, and it again registers with him that the other is alone.

“Did you drive here?” he asks, suddenly worried because Wonwoo is _not_ sober. Luckily Wonwoo just laughs though, and shakes his head ‘no’.

“I walked.” he explains, shrugging. Mingyu pinches his eyebrows together, because they aren’t far from campus, but they’re definitely too far away for someone who’s half-drunk to walk back by themselves. He’d honestly offer to walk back with Wonwoo, but he has a car, and-

“I can drive you back.” Mingyu blurts. Wonwoo blinks at him, and then slowly, his lips turn up into a smile.

“Do you have room?” he points to the three behind Mingyu, who are going over their orders with each other, slurring their words and changing it every time. Mingyu just sighs and nods.

“Yes.” he says, and then- “You can sit in the front.”

Wonwoo’s grin grows bigger, and his eyes sparkle, and Mingyu is very thankful that Vernon tugs him forward again because if he has to continue to stare at Wonwoo, he’ll probably throw up.

“I want a crunch wrap, and a large drink, and fiesta potatoes.” Vernon says to Mingyu, even though they’re standing right in front of the cashier, who’s probably picked it all up. Mingyu looks up at the cashier, watching as the guy types in Vernon’s order, looking like he’s dealt with too many Vernon’s already. When he finishes he tells Vernon his total, and then Vernon hands over a fucking _dime,_ which has the guy near tears. Mingyu sighs and hands over his credit card, telling himself that he’ll have Vernon pay him back later.

Minghao and Seokmin order next, with less difficulty than Vernon, and then the group makes their way over to the waiting area. Wonwoo follows closely behind Mingyu, and Mingyu is thankful than no one in the trio notices, because he isn’t prepared for the comments. He just props himself against the window and crosses his arms, wondering what he ever did in his past lives to deserve his estranged friends.

Their food is called shortly after that, and Mingyu is fully prepared to sit and wait for them to eat it in the lobby, but then Minghao starts making his way back to the car, which causes the other two to follow them. Mingyu wonders why the hell he even tries, they should have just gone through the drive-thru, but then he remembers Wonwoo and sighs a little. He follows the group back out to the car and wills whoever is listening to help keep his car clean.

When they get to the car Minghao stops in front of the passenger seat, because that’s where he always sits, but Mingyu doesn’t unlock the door. He just stares at his best friend before sighing and pointing to Wonwoo, who’s standing awkwardly at the front of the car.

“Wonwoo is going to sit in the front.”

Minghao turns his head and faces Wonwoo, his face forming into his infamous glare. He doesn’t move from the door as he turns back to Mingyu.

“Why is he here?”

“He needs a ride back.”

Minghao scoffs but he understands and moves to the back, shoving Vernon into the seat as soon as Mingyu unlocks the doors so that he doesn’t have to sit in the middle. Mingyu just sighs and climbs into the driver's seat, the same time as Wonwoo gets in next to him. He waits until they’re all buckled and then he proceeds to make his way back to campus, seeking the Kappa Mu house.

He drops his three drunk friends off at the house, Vernon with a promise from Seokmin that he can sleep on his floor. Mingyu wonders if that’s comfortable, but Vernon is about to pass out, so he figures the younger probably doesn’t care. As soon as all three are into the house and the door is shut behind them, Mingyu throws the car back into drive and continues down the street to the Theta Phi house. He stops in front of the walkway and puts the car into park, waiting for the older to get out.

He doesn’t. Instead, he turns to Mingyu, and smiles.

“I didn’t want to talk to you tonight.” he says, which causes Mingyu to quirk an eyebrow. “I’m drunk.”

“Oh.” Mingyu says. He deflates almost immediately, although he doesn’t know what that means.

“It’s because you’re nice to look at.” Mingyu looks back up at Wonwoo, and finds that the other’s face is bright red. He smiles, softly.

“Thanks.” he pauses. “You’re nice to look at too.”

“I think we told each other this last time.” Wonwoo confesses. Mingyu just shrugs, because they did, but it’s whatever. “Do you want to smoke with me?”

Mingyu, thrown off by the sudden change of topic, let’s his mouth hang open like a gaping fish. He composes himself though, and then thinks about it for a split second, before he nods. It can’t hurt, and he doesn’t want to go back to his apartment quite yet anyways.

“Okay.” Wonwoo unbuckles his seat belt, but he leaves his _Taco Bell_ bag on the floorboard as he climbs out of the car. “Can we do it in here? Last time Joshua yelled at me.”

Mingyu doesn’t know who Joshua is, but he nods anyways. He doesn’t mind. Wonwoo just smiles at him and then shuts the door, before running down the walkway and up towards the front door of the house. Mingyu watches his vanish, and then leans his head back against his headrest.

Wonwoo comes back fairly quickly, a paper sack in one hand, a bottle of water in the other. He climbs back into Mingyu’s car and then points towards Theta Phi’s parking lot.

“You can park in there, so we’re not out on the street.” he explains. Mingyu nods and does as told, pulling in and finding a parking spot near the back. He parks and shuts the car off, but turns one of the interior lights on, so that Wonwoo can see. He peers over at the other and watches as Wonwoo pulls a few things out of the paper sack.

“I rolled these yesterday.” Wonwoo explains, placing two blunts on his lap. They’re rolled perfectly and Mingyu kind of stares for a few seconds because he can’t roll for _shit._

Wonwoo pulls a lighter out next, and then shoves everything he doesn’t need onto the ground. Mingyu shuts the interior light back off and rolls up his windows, and then waits for Wonwoo to spark the blunt. He does so after he runs the flame over the crease to ensure that it’s intact, and then takes two hits, before he passes it to Mingyu.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, passing the blunt back and forth, before finally Wonwoo speaks up.

“Why’d you pick Kappa Mu?”

“You asked me that last time.” Mingyu takes a hit and coughs a little. Wonwoo hands him the water bottle, which he takes graciously, before gulping down a bit of it.

“You said that your best friend was in it.”

Mingyu is honestly a little surprised Wonwoo remembered that.

“Yeah.”

“That can’t be it.”

Mingyu’s head is starting to feel a little fuzzy, so he shrugs, and passes the blunt back after his second hit.

“I like it.”

“They made you wear heelys.”

Mingyu snorts.

“Don’t you guys do stuff like that?”

“No.” Wonwoo says, as he blows smoke out of his nose. Mingyu feels like he’s going to throw up every time he tries to do that. “We don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because we don’t. I don’t know. We actually do...frat stuff.”

Mingyu doesn’t know what that means, but he goes with it, and takes the bud from Wonwoo’s fingertips. It’s pretty much out, all that’s left is a little bit of resin, so he rolls down his window and flicks it out. Wonwoo doesn’t light the second one immediately, instead they just sit there.

“Why did you choose Theta?”

“My best friend.” Wonwoo cracks a smile and Mingyu snorts. “Jun liked it, and I didn’t want to be a GDI by myself.”

Mingyu understands, despite the haze, because that was him, and it sucked.

“Do you like it?” Mingyu watches as Wonwoo sparks the second blunt, this one smaller than the first, but still just as perfectly rolled. He doesn’t understand.

“Sometimes.” Wonwoo takes his hits, passes it on. “Sometimes not.”

Mingyu nods like he understands, even though he’s only been in his fraternity for about two weeks.

“I like the friends I made from it.”

Mingyu gets that part. He likes Vernon and Chan, and even Seokmin and Soonyoung, when they aren’t being assholes.

They pass the blunt back and forth between each other in silence for awhile after that, mostly because neither of them know what to talk about. Mingyu’s definitely high at this point, his tolerance is still pretty low, and he might even be hallucinating. He only thinks this because suddenly the blunt is gone, and Wonwoo is leaning into him, his face close to Mingyu’s.

“Wha-” he begins, but is effectively cut off when Wonwoo’s pushes his lips onto his. Mingyu reciprocates almost immediately, leaning into the kiss and and deepening it, trying to get as close to Wonwoo as possible despite the console in between them. He doesn’t get very far though, not because of their current position, but because Wonwoo pushes him away.

“I’d let you fuck me,” the older begins, causing Mingyu to choke, “-if I wasn’t so crossfaded.”

“O-okay.” Mingyu doesn’t know how to respond to that, so he really doesn’t. Wonwoo smirks at him.

“You probably shouldn’t drive.”

No, Mingyu shouldn’t. So he offers to walk instead. Wonwoo waves him off, rolling his eyes.

“You can stay here.”

“Um, are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Wonwoo begins to gather his things up, his paper bag and forgotten _Taco Bell,_ and then opens the passenger door. A pool of smoke follows him. “I don’t mind.”

Mingyu is high as all hell and doesn’t have to be told twice to spend the night with Wonwoo, _he’s Wonwoo,_ so he climbs out of his car as quick as he can and trails after the other. He follows him up to the back door of the Theta Phi house, really not caring who sees them, and then continues through the hallways until they come to a staircase. Mingyu is debating whether or not his legs will work the right way when Wonwoo grabs his hand and tugs him up to the second level. Mingyu vaguely remembers the interior of the house, but he doesn’t remember which room is Mingyu’s, so he’s thankful for the helpful hand.

They eventually come up to a room, and Wonwoo pushes the door open, stepping inside without turning the light on. He still has Mingyu’s hand so Mingyu follows him, and he notices Jun passed out in his bed, but he pays him no attention. He allows himself be drug to Wonwoo’s side of the room, and then Wonwoo drops his hand and sets his bags down on his desk.

“Do you want some shorts or something?” Wonwoo asks, turning back to face Mingyu, who’s stock-still in the middle of the room. Mingyu knows he won’t be able to sleep in jeans, so he nods, and watches as Wonwoo pulls open a drawer in his dresser. He grabs a pair of basketball shorts and throws them at Mingyu, who somehow catches him, despite being momentarily-handicapped. If he was sober, he probably would have asked for a bathroom, or at least some privacy, but he’s not sober so he just pulls down his pants and kicks them off, before pulling on the shorts. Wonwoo watches him the entire time, a shy smile on his face, and then he pulls his own pair of shorts on.

Mingyu doesn’t normally sleep with a shirt on, but he figures even that might be pushing the limit, so he keeps it on when Wonwoo motions towards the bed. He lays down first, and then Mingyu does, on the other side. They both crawl under the covers and then just lay there, silent, and not moving. Until Wonwoo turns on his side and faces Mingyu.

“I’m not gay.” he says, which catches Mingyu off guard. Mingyu is about to say something, he’s not sure what yet, but Wonwoo cuts him off. “I’m bisexual. And I’ve never been with a man before.”

Mingyu purses his lips. He can’t relate.

“But I like you.” And then Wonwoo turns to his other side, dragging the covers up to his neck and snuggling down into his pillow. Before Mingyu can even come up with any words to say back the older is snoring, lightly albeit, and has his face smushed into the bed.

Mingyu stares up at the ceiling and wonders what Wonwoo really means. His mind is foggy and he can literally feel the air circulating through his mouth, he thinks, so he decides to sleep on it and wait for another day to address to topic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hazing isn't cool don't do it


	4. Chapter 4

Mingyu would  _ like _ to say that the only reason he wakes up is because of the stream of sunlight hitting his face, however that is not the case. It plays a part in him startling awake, but the real reason his eyes shoot open is because he has a head resting on his chest, and a leg wrapped around both of his. It startles him. 

He lifts his head just slightly, and then looks down, coming face to face with the top of Wonwoo’s head. He only knows it’s Wonwoo because of the hair, and the faint memories that suddenly rush back to him from the night before. He lets his head fall back to the pillow and sighs, closing his eyes again.

“Good morning.”

Mingyu’s eyes shoot back open and he turns his head to the right, in the direction that the voice came from. He’s surprised to see Jun there, curled up under his comforter and staring right at him. Mingyu can only see his head, and he wonders how long the other has been watching them.

“Um.”

“So, are you guys like, dating now?”

Mingyu wants to ask Jun why he would assume that, but Wonwoo’s practically curled around him, so he groans.

“No.”

“This is the second time you’ve stayed the night.”

“We didn’t sleep together.” Mingyu spits out. He doesn’t know if that’s what Jun had been wondering, but he still wants to clear the air. “I just couldn’t drive home last night.”

“Right. So you slept with him, in his bed, with him wrapped around you like an octopus.”

“Yes.”

Jun snickers and Mingyu rolls his eyes, throwing his free arm across his face.

“Do you want to date him?”

“I’ve only talked to him three times.” And it’s true; Mingyu barely knows Wonwoo. Aside from the fact that they’ve slept together, they really don’t have any other common interests, as far as Mingyu knows. He knows Wonwoo is a Psychology major, and that he’s in Theta Phi, and that’s about it. As the memories from the night before flood back in Mingyu remembers Wonwoo telling him that he liked him, and he wonders how he came to that conclusion. In all honestly Mingyu just kind of thinks Wonwoo is a pretty face, and a good lay. And he doesn’t make him pay for weed.

“Hm.” Jun is quite for a little while, so Mingyu just lays there and stares at the inside of his arm. His other arm is numb underneath Wonwoo, and there’s sweat dripping down his back. “Is your friend single?”

Mingyu flings his arm away from his face and stares at Jun, eyes wide.

“My  _ friend?” _

“Yeah. Minghao.”

Mingyu chokes. Wonwoo stirs and Mingyu has to hold himself still for a few seconds before he replies, because he doesn’t really want the older to wake up.

“Yes?” Mingyu remembers Minghao telling him that he knows Jun, and furrows his eyebrows together. “Why?”

“Just wondering.” Jun then throws his comforter off of himself and stands up from his bed, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. His shirt rises above his waistband and Mingyu only stares because his boxers have unicorns on them, and he’s wearing a dress shirt that has a large stain on it. “You might want to leave soon. We have a community service event in an hour.”

Mingyu realizes then that he has no idea what time it is, so he reaches for his phone that’s been pushed under the pillow. Jun doesn’t say anything else to him before he walks out of the room, basically slamming the door behind him. Mingyu rolls his eyes and presses his home button, brightening his screen and showing him all of his notifications.

It’s 1:30 in the afternoon. He has 12 missed calls from Minghao, and 10 text messages, most of them also from Minghao. One from Vernon that’s asking him if he wants to grab lunch, which was about an hour ago. Another from Chan, wondering if Mingyu wants to walk to their chapter meeting together later that night. Mingyu ignores Vernon and Chan’s messages for the time being and instead goes to his thread with Minghao, in order to contact his worried best friend.

 

**> vernon threw up all over the bathroom **

**> what happened to chan last night?**

 

Mingyu had no idea Chan even went out with them. 

 

**> want to go get food? **

**> mingyu? **

**> hellllooooooo**

**> answer me**

 

There’s a break in the test message stream, about 30 minutes in between the two messages. 

 

**> WHERE ARE YOU YOU ARENT IN YOUR APARTMENT **

**> do i need to file for a missing person :/**

 

That was 10 minutes ago, and knowing Minghao, he’s already contacted the police. Mingyu sighs and clicks on his keyboard. 

 

**Are you at the house? <**

**> thought you died ya i’m here where are you**

**I’ll be there in like 10 minutes <**

 

Mingyu locks his phone and places it on the bed beside him. He then peers done at the boy on his chest, and he kind of doesn’t want to leave, but he also doesn’t want to stay so he tugs his arm out from beneath Wonwoo and sits up. Wonwoo jostles a little but he doesn’t wake up, and it’s a miracle how much of a heavy sleeper he is. 

Mingyu runs a hand through his hair, he just  _ knows _ that it’s sticking up everywhere, and then stands from the bed. He looks around for his jeans, well aware that he has Wonwoo’s shorts on, before spotting them next to Wonwoo’s desk. He walks over to them and picks them up, quietly tugging them on after pulling the shorts off and placing them draped over the desk chair. Usually he would wash and return them, but he’s not so sure that’s a good idea.

He grabs his phone off of the bed, and his wallet and keys from where they had fallen on the floor, and then makes his way to the bedroom door. He allows himself one last glance back at Wonwoo, who’s still dead to the world, before he slips out of the room and quietly shuts the door behind him.

He has no idea where he is in the house, both of the times he’s walked through it he’s been fogged up, but luckily he spots a door with an ‘exit’ sign at the very end of the hallway. He stalks towards it and when he doesn’t see any sign of an alarm warning, he pushes it open, and finds himself faced with a staircase attached to the back end of the house. He quickly makes his way down them and then heads to his car, unlocking it and starting it up the minute he’s in it.

The drive to the Kappa Mu house only takes about 45 seconds, because it’s right down the street. He parks on the street in front of the house and then trudges up to the front door. There isn’t a special key to get in the house, or a key card, only a passcode pad. They were given the passcode through an email two days after bid day, so Mingyu types it in quickly, and then shoves the door open once the lock clicks. The first thing he notices upon entering the house is that it’s eerily quiet, and he’s never actually been in the house on a Sunday, so he wonders if the lack of noise is normal. Not really caring, though, he makes his way over to the stairs, and quickly climbs up them. Minghao’s room is on the third floor, towards the end of the hallway, mostly because he’s a sophomore and sophomore’s get the least input in the chapter, right after freshman.

Mingyu doesn’t even knock when he gets to Minghao’s door, just pushes it open and steps inside the room. He briefly peers around and takes note that  _ the roommate from Hell, _ Andrew, isn’t there. Minghao is, though, and he’s staring at Mingyu, a calculating look written across his face.

“Who’d you fuck?”

Mingyu scrunches his nose up and throws himself across Minghao’s bed, groaning.

“No one.”

“Then why are you still in your clothes from last night?”

“You were coherent enough to remember what I was wearing?”

“I wasn’t that drunk, shut up.” Minghao throws a pen at Mingyu from where he’s sitting at his desk. It hits Mingyu on the leg, leaving a mark on his jeans. “Really, where’d you go?”

Mingyu shrugs. Minghao throws an eraser at him.

“Stop throwing things at me.” Mingyu grits out. He pushes a pillow under his head and throws both of his arms over his eyes. “I was at the Theta Phi house.”

“You fucked Wonwoo again?” Minghao doesn’t even sound surprised, and Mingyu rolls his eyes.

“No. I just stayed there. We smoked and I didn’t want to drive.”

“So you didn’t have sex?”

“No.”

“Lame.” Mingyu listens as Minghao twirls around in his chair. He peeks between the crack his arms have made and finds the other facing away from him, typing away on his laptop.

They sit there in silence for awhile, Minghao typing whatever it is he’s working on, Mingyu stewing on the bed. He honestly kind of smells and is starving, but he isn’t willing to get up and leave.

“Did you at least get his number this time?”

Mingyu sighs.

“No.”

“Do you even want it?”

“I don’t know.”

He honestly doesn’t. So far sophomore year has been weird, he kind of just wants to sleep the rest of the semester away.

A few more minutes pass by in silence before Mingyu can’t really take it anymore, and he sits up in the bed. And then a lightbulb goes off, and he smirks, throwing the eraser Minghao had chucked back at him.

“How did you meet Jun?”

“Hm?” Minghao turns around in his chair, his eyebrow quirked. Mingyu just shrugs. “Orientation. He’s an exchange student and they tried to put us in groups with people we could connect to, I guess, so he was in mine.”

“So you’ve known him since freshman year?”

“Yeah, why?”

“He asked about you.”

Minghao perks up at that, his back stiffening and his eyebrows shooting upwards.

“What did he say?”

“Asked if you were single.”

Minghao’s eyes about bug out of their sockets, though he doesn’t say anything. Mingyu has never asked, because even though he’s Minghao’s best friend it really isn’t his business, but he’s always wondered if they guy likes, well, other guys. Even a little bit. Minghao has only ever been with girls, but something in Mingyu tells him that his best friend just hasn’t met  _ the one _ yet. That’s why he smirks at Minghao’s put-off expression.

“Why would he ask that?”

“Don’t know, dude.” Mingyu answers honestly, though he has a hunch. He leaves it at that though and stands up from Minghao’s bed, picking up his phone and keys. “I’m going to head out, I need to shower.”

Minghao just nods, and turns back to his laptop, though he doesn’t start typing again. Mingyu leaves him like that, staring blankly at his screen, and snickers the entire way back down to his car.

 

~ 

 

Mingyu has never experienced Thirsty Thursday, which is honestly kind of pathetic, because he’s been a college student for a year and a couple of weeks now. He’s never been out to the bars on this fateful night, has never chanced his luck with bouncers with his fake ID he acquired 6 months before , has never tasted the cheap alcohol the undercover-cop locations offer. It’s something that’s never really bothered him, he’s heard the horrid MIP stories circulating the campus, but now that he’s here he realizes how much he’s missed out on. The alcohol really isn’t that good, and he’s paranoid any time and older looking male with dark clothes on walks past him, but he’s satisfied. Mostly because he’s got a drunk Vernon sitting next to him in one of the booths, and the club is playing early-2000s throwbacks. 

“Oh my God I love this song!” Vernon shouts across the table, even though Mingyu is sitting right next to him. They’ve lost Minghao, Mingyu last saw him at the bar buying a green looking cocktail for a girl, and Seokmin has been missing for the better half of the night. Soonyoung has been on the dance floor since they stepped foot through the door, and Mingyu has honestly stopped worrying about him.

Lil Wayne’s  _ Gonorrhea _ is blaring through the speakers of the club, and the dance floor is packed with people, and Mingyu is content. He’s happy just sitting there and people watching, and sipping on his Vodka Sprite, which tastes like sewage water but the beer is too expensive. The other cocktails are too sour, or too sweet, or don’t taste like anything at all, so he’s sticking to what he knows. Which isn’t satisfying, but he can feel the buzz.

“Hey, dude.” Vernon screams at him, so Mingyu turns, and finds Vernon with his head placed on the table top, cheek down. Vernon doesn’t have a fake, but he had scrubbed the giant ‘M’ for minor off of his hand after getting through the bouncer, and Mingyu has been buying him drinks ever since. He’s plastered and has been drinking straight sprite for 30 minutes, still thinking it’s a Vodka Sprite, and Mingyu finds it hilarious.

“What’s up?” Mingyu asks, grinning. Vernon sighs and picks his head up off of the table.

“I have a problem.”

“What is it?”

“Seungkwan is in Theta Phi.”

Mingyu hasn’t seen Seungkwan since the rush events, but he remembers the boy. About the same height as Vernon, with blonde hair and a round face. Very loud, always joking around, has Vernon smiling non stop. He nods.

“Yeah, I remember. I helped you look for him during rush. He got a bid from Theta?”

Vernon groans and nods, and slams his head back down on the table.

“And from Kappa because Seungcheol liked him, but he chose Theta Phi.” Vernon looks genuinely pained, like the fact that Seungkwan picked Theta kills him inside. “And you know what?”

“What?” Mingyu asks, because he doesn’t know.

“The stupid rivalry between us and them makes it so I can’t talk to him.” Vernon sighs, and Mingyu wants to tell him that that’s not necessarily true, but Vernon beats him to it. “I mean I can, but Jeonghan glares at me during meetings so I think he knows.”

Mingyu doesn’t remember Jeonghan ever looking in their direction during chapter  _ or _ new member meetings, but he doesn’t mention it. Vernon clearly needs to vent.

“I can be friends with him and stuff but I can’t date him.”

Mingyu is in the process of taking a drink as Vernon says this, but he spits it all over the table once the words are out. Vernon doesn’t even flinch at it.

“I think I love my best friend.”

_ “Jesus.” _ Mingyu chokes out, peering at Vernon with a bewildered look on his face. “You  _ think?!” _

Vernon sits back up and looks Mingyu straight on, his face bright red.

“I’ve known him since we were in preschool. Our moms were friends. We used to take baths together.”

Mingyu doesn’t need to know this, but he nods anyways.

“And sometimes I want to make out with him. Is that weird? Do you sometimes want to make out with Minghao?”

“No.” Mingyu says immediately, he eyes subconsciously flicking out to the dance floor in search of his best friend. He isn’t hard to spot, he’s taller than a lot of people, so Mingyu finds him dancing in a group of people towards the middle of the space. He sees Soonyoung, and  _ oh look, there’s Seokmin, _ and then turns back to Vernon.

“I’ve never wanted to kiss Minghao.”

“See! So it’s not just a bestfriend thing!” Mingyu wonders why Vernon ever thought that was a  _ bestfriend _ thing. “I think I love him.”

“You said that.” Mingyu points on, but Vernon just groans. “Why do you think you love him?”

“He’s the only person I care about besides my family.” Mingyu decides that he is way too sober for this conversation, even though he really isn’t that sober at all, and stands up from the booth.

“I’m going to let you think about this while I go get another drink.” He downs the rest of his sewage water, while Vernon nods pathetically at him. Mingyu just grimaces and makes his way down to the bar on the other side of the club.

There are a lot of people in the club, more than Mingyu had originally thought, so he has to push his way through crowds of people before he manages to get to the bar. Once there he shimmies his way to the counter and whips out his wallet, grinning at the bar attendant.

“Vodka Sprite, regular sprite.” he says. The girl is the same girl from last time and she smiles at him, before getting to work on his drinks. He leans against the bar while he waits and only turns when someone sidles up next to him, their body touching his.

“Hey.” the voice says, and after staring in his drunken stupor for a few seconds, he realizing the guy next to him is actually Jun. He smiles.

“Hi.”

The bar attendant places Mingyu’s drinks down in front of him and Mingyu throws a few bills down on the counter, while pulling the cups towards him.

“Vodka and sprite?” Jun asks him, snickering down at his drink choice. Mingyu shrugs.

“All the good stuff is too expensive.”

Jun snorts, and nods.

“True.” the other turns to the bar attendant, and throws on a grin. “Same as usual, and then two shots of Patron.”

The bar attendant pours the shots first and slides them over to Jun, and then turns around and grabs a glass off of the back wall. Mingyu isn’t sure why he stays and watches the exchange, but in the end he’s glad he does, because Jun slides a shot of to him and holds his up in a ‘cheer’s gesture. Mingyu matches him and then downs the shot, wiping his mouth when he sets the glass back down.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Jun smirks. “You here with anyone?”

“Just the guys.” Mingyu sighs. He wishes he was here with someone, maybe it’d be a little more interesting. Instead he has love-confessing Vernon, and he dance ridden friends.

Jun nods. “Me too. Except for Wonwoo, because he’s boring.”

Mingyu had honestly not thought about Wonwoo in his conversation with Jun, so he just nods at the confession. It’s been nearly a week since he last saw the guy, aside from Psychology, and Mingyu had only gone once this week.

“Well, I’m going to head back out.” Jun gestures towards the dance floor and Mingyu nods, waving the guy off. He then grabs his two cups and makes his way back to the booth, feeling the buzz a little bit more than he had before.

He finds Vernon is the same spot he had been in before Mingyu left, except this time he’s crying. Mingyu sits down next to him and places the sprite in front of his face, before running a hand up and down his back.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I’m in love with my best friend!” Vernon sobs. A group of girls standing at the handrail in front of them turn around and stare at Vernon with concern in their eyes. One of them even coos at him. Mingyu just sighs and tries his best to console his friend, though he downs half of his drink before doing so.

“It’ll be okay, man.” Mingyu says, peering around for anyone to help him out. He finds no one and sighs, leaning back into the booth and patting Vernon’s shoulder.

Suddenly, he doesn’t regret skipping out of Thirsty Thursday’s the year before. Maybe it was for the best, in all honesty.

 

~

 

Mingyu is sitting in front of Seungcheol, his hands in his lap, while the older fills out his interview sheet. They’re at a ‘ _ speed-dating’ _ event for the fraternity, which was supposed to help the older brothers get to know the younger ones, because Big-Little Day is coming up and the pledges need to choose who they want their Big to be. Mingyu is  _ innovative _ though, so he’s been using the time to knock his interviews out of the way, which Seungcheol had found genius. 

“All done.” the older says, handing Mingyu’s binder back to him, and smirking. Mingyu thanks him and places the binder in his lap, smiling.

“So Mingyu, why did you accept the bid to Kappa? You’re the kind of kid that probably would have gotten a bid to any fraternity.”

Mingyu shrugs. He’s been making small talk with all of the older guys, because he has to, but he already knows who his Big is going to be. The day he accepted his bid Minghao had basically called dibs, and he’s fine with that. Seungcheol keeps asking him questions, though, and it’s making him nervous.

“Minghao.” he answers honestly, shrugging. “He loves it and convinced me to join.”

“Do you love it?”

Mingyu gets the vibe that he can joke around with Seungcheol and not get scolded for it, so he sighs.

“You made me wear heelies.”

Seungcheol throws his head back and cackles, before nodding.

“Yeah, I did. It’s for brotherhood though.”

Mingyu just sighs again, though he does smile. Seungcheol is about to say something else, but then the buzzer dings, and Mingyu stands up. He thanks Seungcheol and then moves on to the next table, where Jeonghan is sitting, saying goodbye to Chan. Mingyu sits down in the chair before him and hands over his binder, grinning from ear to ear.

“Can you fill this out?”

Jeonghan laughs and opens up the binder, taking the pen from Mingyu. “Brilliant.” He gets to work on the questions and doesn’t look back up at Mingyu until he’s done, which is about a minute later.

“So, Mingyu,” he begins, resting his chin on his propped up hands. “-you’re basically already Minghao’s Little.”

“Yeah.” Mingyu answers, shrugging. “I’m here so I don’t get fined.”

They get fined if they don’t show up to certain events, and Mingyu has next to no money, so he decided to come. Plus, he wanted to get the interviews done as quick as possible. They’re due at the next new member meeting and he’s only halfway done.

“I like you.” Jeonghan admits, laughing. Mingyu grins again. Jeonghan is less intimidating one of one.

“Well, in that case, do you have any questions?”

Mingyu really doesn’t, until he thinks of his conversation with Minghao a couple of weeks back, and sighs. It wouldn’t hurt to ask.

“Why’d you fight with the VP of Theta Phi last year?” he asks, genuinely curious. It’s been bugging him for awhile, honestly. Mostly because he can’t seem to escape Theta Phi’s.

Jeonghan, clearly not expecting the question, leans back in his chair. He then sighs and shrugs, smirking a little.

“He cheated in the flag football championship game, and it cost us the trophy.”

Mingyu’s not sure his jaw could fall further towards the ground. He’s genuinely shocked that an argument  _ that _ big with  _ that _ much influence on future activities was about fucking flag football. Jeonghan notices this, which is probably written out all over his face, and snickers.

“It was dumb.”

“You’re telling me.” Mingyu blurts, and then brings his hands to his mouth. He hadn’t meant to say that, but luckily Jeonghan just snorts.

“So, like, how come we’re still rivals with them if it was just over football?”

“Who told you about this?” Jeonghan asks, instead of answering the question. Mingyu points to Minghao, who’s a few tables down, also at the event so he doesn’t get fined.

“Soonyoung does a good job hyping the story up to new members.” he laughs, explaining. “It’s basically just to fire everyone up for intramurals. We want to win.”

Mingyu honestly cannot believe that he’s joined a fraternity full of honest to God  _ children. _ Here he was thinking Jihoon and Jeonghan were on the verge of murdering each other over something significant, but no.  _ Flag football. _

“Wow.”

“Why?” Jeonghan finally asks, and he looks genuinely curious as to why Mingyu even cares. Mingyu just shrugs. He honestly only asked because he remembers his conversation with Vernon, and how torn up the younger was. He makes a mental note to call the kid later.

“Just wondering.” Jeonghan doesn’t seem to accept the answer, so Mingyu shrugs. “One of my friends is...well, kind of likes someone in Theta, and was worried that he would never be able to date him.”

Mingyu prays that Jeonghan isn’t homophobic, because that would suck. The older just smiles and nods, though, so Mingyu sighs and leans back in his chair.

“Tell him not to worry about it, we won’t care.” Jeonghan tells him. His eyes quickly flick over to the person next to him, who happens to be Soonyoung, and Mingyu doesn’t know what that means but he doesn’t ask because the bell rings, signaling the end of their session.

Mingyu thanks Jeonghan like he had Seungcheol and then moves on to Soonyoung, who’s still busy chatting away with Chan. He only notices that it’s time to switch because Mingyu places the binder down in front of him.

Soonyoung laughs at him but happily accepts it, and then waves Chan on his way, before immediately getting to work on the questions. Mingyu watches him but lets his mind reel the entire time. He tells himself that he’s glad he asked Jeonghan about the fight, now he can put Vernon’s mind to ease (he’s seen the younger twice since the club, and he still looks sad), but no matter how many times Mingyu mentally scolds himself, he can’t help but think of Wonwoo.

He’s not sure what that means, but he pushes it to the back of his mind the minute Soonyoung gets done with his questions. He doesn’t need to think about that now. He’s not sure what he would even think about anyways. 


	5. Chapter 5

_ “Shoot!” _ Soonyoung screams from the sidelines, his eyes wild and his arms waving above his head. The poor kid dribbling the ball, Mingyu is pretty sure his name is James, kicks the ball at least five feet off-goal, which gives the other team a goal kick. Soonyoung screams again, something incoherent, and throws his clipboard on the ground. 

Mingyu has never played an organized sport despite being incredibly athletic, and he’s kind of terrified by Soonyoung’s behavior. He’s never seen the elder so... _ intense, _ unless it was about dance. And soccer is for sure nothing like dance. So he stays far away from the other boy, choosing instead to stand behind Chan in his position on the sidelines.

“You think Chan is going to save you? He’s two feet tall.” Minghao says from besides Mingyu, chuckling slightly. Chan turns around and glares at him, before shoving both Mingyu and Minghao in front of him in the line.

“You guys can sub first.”

“Aw, no.” Mingyu whines, trying his best to maneuver back behind Chan, but the younger just pushes him forward again. This means that he’s next in line to sub in, and Soonyoung hasn’t cooled down yet, so Mingyu is scared.

“Kim!” Soonyoung yells, and Mingyu sighs before jogging his way onto the field. James,  _ poor James, _ walks off and plops himself down onto the ground at the end of the line, panting.

Mingyu has practiced soccer before, with Minghao when he used to play for the high school team, so he knows the basis of the game. He knows that the general idea is to get the ball into the other team’s goal, so he’s prepared when Vernon passes to him. He takes off with the ball, dribbling down the field and making up for the previous lost possessions.

He’s not prepared, however, for the literal  _ man _ that comes barreling towards him, and knocks him flat on his back. It’s unfortunate because he’s only been on the field for about a minute, and already he can feel the pain rippling through his leg.

“That was a fucking foul!” Soonyoung screams at the student-referee, more concerned with the fact that the whistle wasn’t blown than with his teammate that’s currently writhing in pain on the ground. Luckily Minghao comes to his defense, telling Soonyoung to pretty much shut up and see if Mingyu is okay.

“What hurts?” Soonyoung asks upon arriving at Mingyu’s side, looking down at him with concern but also annoyance. Mingyu groans and looks back up at him, his eyes squinted.

“Everything.”

“You’re being dramatic.” Soonyoung reaches his hand out for Mingyu, and Mingyu reaches up to grab it, but when Soonyoung tugs Mingyu about screams.

“No, my leg.” he chokes out, letting go of Soonyoung’s hand and instead moving to a sitting position. His leg seriously hurts, he isn’t being dramatic, he’s pretty sure he might be dying. Soonyoung sighs and crouches down next to him.

“Where?” Mingyu points to his ankle, and Soonyoung pokes at it. “Right there?”

“Ouch, yes.” Mingyu groans, swatting at the older’s hand. “I’m not going back in.”

“No, you’re going to the trainer.”

“No I’m not. This isn’t a high school sport, just let me go home.”

“If it’s broken or sprained and you don’t go to the school trainer, we get in trouble.” Soonyoung explains, standing back up. “Minghao!”

Minghao jogs over to the two of them and peers down at Mingyu, his eyes full of concern.  _ At least he cares, _ Mingyu thinks.

“Can you take Mingyu to the trainer?”

“Yeah.” Minghao sighs, and bends down to help Mingyu up. Mingyu leans on him for support and pushes himself up off of the ground, taking special care not to bump his ankle on the ground. Once he’s up, Minghao begins tugging him off of the field, slowly but surely.

“Of course this would happen to you.” Minghao breaths out, obviously struggling with supporting all of Mingyu’s weight. “You’re a giant hazard.”

“Thanks.” Mingyu tells him, rolling his eyes. He leans on him further and quickly hops over to the little shelter near the entrance of the fields, where the athletic training center is. It’s only open when the fields are being used for university sponsored events, and it’s run by athletic training students, so Mingyu isn’t expecting a lot of help.

The small building is fairly dark when Mingyu and Minghao walk in, mostly because it’s essentially a garage with cabinets and shelves. Minghao sets Mingyu down on the little table that set’s up in the corner, and then goes to look for the student in charge.

He comes back with Jun, and Mingyu groans, throwing his head back.

“I didn’t know you played soccer.”

“I didn’t know you were an athletic training major.” Mingyu says back, looking towards Minghao for help. Minghao just throws his hands up in defense behind Jun’s back, and then gestures back towards the fields before running off. Mingyu decides he hates him.

“I am.” Jun says, laughing a little. “What happened?”

“I got knocked the fuck over.” Mingyu explains bitterly, biting his lip. He can see the man-beast that had trampled him still out on the field from the little window in the building, and it makes his blood boil. All of his friends are relatively small, but he wishes that they could take the guy out. It’s unlikely, but he can dream.

“Tragic.” Jun chuckles. “Where’s it hurt?”

“My ankle.” Mingyu points down at his left ankle, which he can already tell is starting to swell. Jun nods and crouches down in front of him, taking his ankle carefully before beginning to examine it. He doesn’t poke it like Soonyoung had, which Mingyu is grateful for, because it actually does hurt. Instead, he turns it slightly each way, and then feels up his calf.

“Well, it’s definitely sprained.”

“Awesome.” Mingyu says, and he supposes that it probably comes off sarcastic, but he honestly really doesn’t mind. Maybe this means that he won’t have to wear the heelies anymore, or play soccer.

“I can tape it up for you. It’s not that bad, you basically just need to rest and ice it, and keep it elevated.” Jun tells him, standing back up and walking over to one of the shelves. He grabs a tub off of it and comes back to the table, though he’s scowling.

“We’re out of tape. I can run down to the storage room and get some real quick if you don’t mind waiting?”

“Sure.” Mingyu shrugs, because he doesn’t have anything else to do. Jun nods once and sets the tub down, before grabbing the golf cart keys off of the wall and leaving the small shelter. Mingyu is left in silence, while he stares down at his ankle and frowns.

He’s always been prone to accidents, it’s no wonder that he’s already hurt himself playing soccer. Seungcheol and Jeonghan, and especially Soonyoung, owe him.

He’s sitting on the table peacefully, thinking of all of the favors he can ask of his three elders once he sees them again, when the door to the shelter swings back open. Assuming it’s Jun, who’s gotten back sooner than he had thought, Mingyu leans back on the table and waits. Except it’s not Jun, and in walks someone else, who has Mingyu internally screaming.

“They were out of roasted chicken. What sandwich place is out of roasted chicken? I got you-” Wonwoo begins, but once he sees Mingyu, he stops. It’s almost as if he’s frozen, Mingyu can’t even tell if the older is breathing. He just stares at Mingyu, sandwich bags hanging loosely from his fingertips.

“Hey.” Mingyu says hesitantly, grinning shyly. Wonwoo coughs a little and then makes his way fully into the room, setting the bags down on the shelf. He doesn’t say anything, which makes the atmosphere awkward, and has Mingyu wanting to run away. Too bad his ankle is practically broken in half.

“Um.”

“Jun went to go get more tape at the storage shelter.” Mingyu explains. Wonwoo nods, and then glances down at Mingyu’s bare foot.

“What happened?”

“I...got hurt.”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes; Mingyu sighs a little.

“Are you okay?”

Mingyu shrugs. “I’m fine. Just a sprained ankle.”

“That’s good.” Wonwoo says, and then his face reddens. “I mean, that it wasn’t more.”

“Yeah.” Mingyu squeaks. It’s kind of embarrassing, the noise that comes out of his mouth. Wonwoo just smiles at him.

“All we had left was pink- Oh, hey Wonwoo.” Jun says as he walks back through the shelter door, startling both Mingyu and Wonwoo. He smirks at the two of them, and then makes his way over to Mingyu, holding up the roll of tape.

“All that was left was pink.”

“That’s fine.” Mingyu shrugs, not really caring. It’s just tape; it’ll be off in an hour when he takes a shower anyways.

“Cool.” Jun bends down and gets to work on Mingyu’s ankle, wrapping it in a combination of wrap and tape. It doesn’t take long before Mingyu’s toes are slightly purple, and his ankle is fully stable.

“Is it too tight?”

Despite the discoloration, it’s not. Mingyu shakes his head.

“Good. I’m in the main clinic every morning until 8 if you want me to wrap it tomorrow too.” Jun explains. “Other than that, like I said, just ice and rest it.”

“Will do.” Mingyu says, already tugging his sock and shoe back on. The game is nearly over, but he had driven Minghao, Chan, and Vernon, so he does have to head back over. “When will it get better?”

“Probably in about two weeks, if you take it easy. Three if you don’t rest it properly.”

“So if I keep using it it’ll take longer to heal?” Jun gives him a weird look, but nods. Mingyu smirks. “That’s three games I don’t have to play in, and three weeks I don’t have to wear the heelies.”

Wonwoo probably doesn’t mean to, but he snorts in the corner of the room. Mingyu turns to smile at him, and notices how red the older’s face is. He ignores it and turns back to Jun, who’s just shaking his head, though there’s a small smile on his face.

“It’s up to you, Mingyu.”

Mingyu grins and nods, and then hops down from the table, careful of his ankle.

“Thanks for your help.”

“No problem.” Jun tells him. Mingyu doesn’t have anything else to say, so he smiles at the guy one more time, and then hobbles his way to the door. He only stops because Wonwoo calls his name, which catches him off guard.

“Yeah?” He turns and finds the elder looking up at him, almost shy.

“I uh, noticed you weren’t in psych yesterday. I’m tutoring in the library tomorrow from 3:00 to 4:00 in room 220 if you need help catching up.” he says, and then bites his lip, his face the same shade of bright red. Mingyu smirks and nods. Jun, now sitting on the abandoned table, scoffs and rolls his eyes.

“Okay. I’ll be there.” Mingyu promises, and then turns back towards the door, awkwardly shuffling away.

He has a class at 3:30 on the other side of the campus from the library, but he hasn’t been in at least a week, so he figures that it wouldn’t hurt to skip once more. 

 

~

 

**I need your psych book <**

 

Mingyu hasn’t even locked his phone when the call comes, startling him slightly. He sighs and slides the green button across his screen, before bringing the phone to his ear. 

“Yeah?”

“Why do you need my book?” Minghao asks, sounding genuinely curious. Mingyu sighs.

“For tutoring.”

“Tutoring?”

“Yeah.”

“Since when do you go to tutoring if you don’t have a test the next day?”

Mingyu rolls his eyes and leans back on his bed, which is covered in half-assed notes and printed off papers. He really doesn’t want to go to his tutoring session with  _ nothing,  _ so he’s trying his best to get prepared.

“Since today.”

“Is it with Wonwoo?”

The fact that Mingyu says nothing is what confirms the statement for Minghao, which in turn causes the younger to laugh. If Mingyu was around him, he’d hit him. 

“Jesus, you’re serious about this.”

“I just need help catching up, and he offered. Can I have your book or not?”

“You could have, but I already gave it to Vernon.” Minghao explains. Mingyu groans, because Vernon is in his biology lab until  _ 6:00, _ and never has his phone on him.

“He’ll probably have a book.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want him thinking  _ I _ don’t have one.”

“I don’t think you own any books.” Minghao snickers. Mingyu rolls his eyes and immediately hangs the phone up, ignoring his best friends protests on the other line. He throws his phone down on the other side of the bed and groans up at his ceiling.

Mingyu’s not really sure why he’s nervous for a  _ study session. _ Especially one that will probably include other people, and not just Wonwoo. But he woke up late and isn’t even dressed yet, and he doesn’t know what questions to ask or what to even say in the first place, so he’s panicking.

He glances at his clock on his bedside table and sighs, seeing that it’s already 2:30 in the afternoon. He wants to be at the library at exactly 3:00, so he begrudgingly stands up from his bed and heads towards his closet.

All of his clothes are dirty, for the most part, so he really doesn’t have much to choose from. He smells his best jeans though, and they’re not musty yet, so he decides on those for pants and looks towards his shirt rack. His t shirts aren’t suitable for the public, because he can smell them from the floor, so he grabs a sweatshirt that he hasn’t worn in forever and tugs it over his head. It’s a little small in the arms, but he doesn’t mind. He then tugs his jeans on and then makes his way out of the closet, heading towards the bathroom.

It doesn’t take him long to wash his face, brush his teeth, and fix his hair. Once he’s deemed himself presentable, for the most part, he stuffs his various papers and notebooks into his backpack and then leaves his bedroom. He throws his shoes on, which are by the couch, and then grabs his keys and wallet off of the table, before leaving the apartment.

The drive to the university campus isn’t long; it only takes him 10 minutes. He’s parked and out of his car by 2:50, and starts heading towards the library immediately. He only comes into contact with one tour before he’s standing in front of the library, looking at up it.

Mingyu doesn’t spend a lot of time in the library. He hasn’t been once this semester, and if he remembers correctly, he only went once or twice the entirety of last year. Which is why when he walks in, he has no idea where to go, and has to ask the front desk attendant where the fuck room 220 is.

He approaches the desk and, upon arriving, recognizes the worker as the boy that had been in the student union with Wonwoo, Jun, and Jihoon when Minghao had decided to embarrass the living hell out of him. Mingyu glances down at his name card and reads ‘Joshua’, before looking back up and smiling at the boy.  _ This _ must be the Joshua that Wonwoo had talked about the last time Mingyu was with him.

“Hi. Where’s room 220?”

The boy looks up from the book he’s reading, and then smirks.

“Wonwoo’s tutoring room?”

Mingyu sighs. “Yes.”

“Up the stairs, go straight, take the first right, it’s the third door on the right side of the hall.”

“Thanks.” Mingyu says, nodding once. Joshua just smirks again and then goes back to his book.

It isn’t really difficult trying to find the room, after being given a bit of guidance. Mingyu finds it easily enough, though he does knock into an empty table on the way. He has a bit of a gimp from his sprained ankle, which causes him to basically hop around, and in turn be extra clumsy. He makes it to the door without breaking anything though, so he considers it a win.

The door is open when Mingyu gets to it, leaving him with a straight shot of Wonwoo from where he’s still standing in the hallway. The older is sitting at a round table, his headphones in with his head bent as he highlights something in his textbook. Mingyu notes that he’s wearing dark jeans, and a button up shirt, and that he looks  _ really fucking good. _ He sighs and takes a tentative step forward, peeking his head through the door.

Wonwoo must see him out of the corner of his eye because he tugs his headphones out and looks up, smiling.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Mingyu repeats, talking the last couple of steps until he’s fully in the room. He smiles and sets his backpack down on the ground, before pulling one of the chairs out and sitting down in it.

“How are you?”

“I’m good, how are you?” Wonwoo replies. He unplugs his headphones from his phone and then shoves them into his backpack, before pulling out another textbook and a notebook.

“Okay.” Mingyu shrugs. He pulls out his own notebook, as well as a pencil he had found on his bedroom floor. “So...psychology.”

Wonwoo chuckles, and flips his textbook open to a chapter. “How many classes have you actually been to?”

Mingyu has been to three. He immediately flushes, and bites his lip.

“Uh...three?”

“Wow.” Wonwoo laughs again, and shakes his head slightly. “That’s okay, though. I only went to two of my history lectures last semester. I hated that class.”

Mingyu grins at the way Wonwoo’s face turns red. It’s kind of cute.

“I don’t hate psychology.” Mingyu explains, because he doesn’t. He also doesn’t want Wonwoo to think he despises his major. “I just...don’t understand it.”

“It might help if you actually go to class.” Wonwoo suggests sarcastically. Mingyu shrugs. “But I suppose I can help you anyways.”

“Thanks.” Mingyu bites out, his grin not falling. Wonwoo just looks at him, and then looks down at his notebook, flipping to a page full of writing.

“Where to start?”

* 

Mingyu has never been so confused in his life. He’s been sitting in the little room with Wonwoo for about 45 minutes now, and he hasn’t understood a single thing. They haven’t been interrupted yet, but that doesn’t mean Mingyu hasn’t been distracted, because Wonwoo keeps talking about  _ classical conditioning _ and  _ parts of the brain _ and someone named  _ Piaget  _ and really the only thing that Mingyu has retained is that electrotherapy treatment for mental health is  _ bad _

“Right, so then Erik Erikson developed a theory of psychosocial development, and-”

“Wonwoo.” Mingyu says, cutting the elder off effectively, because they really aren’t getting anywhere. Well, Wonwoo is, but Mingyu isn’t.

“Yeah?” Wonwoo looks up from his notes, where he had previously been pointing at tables and diagrams that he has drawn out on the paper.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Because I haven’t explained it yet.” Wonwoo laughs a little, his eyes shining. Mingyu thinks they’re nice.

“No, like, I haven’t understood anything you’ve explained so far.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?!” Wonwoo asks, though he’s still laughing. Mingyu, suddenly now sheepish, shrugs and leans back in his chair. “I could have slowed down.”

“I…” Mingyu doesn’t know how to say it without sounding creepy, but he decides to go for it anyways. “I like hearing you talk about this stuff. You’re really passionate about it.”

“Oh.” Wonwoo leans back into his own chair. He runs a hand through his hair, his neck flushing a bright red, though it doesn’t reach his face. “Yeah.”

“When did you decide you wanted to be a psychologist?” Mingyu asks, because he figures that now is the best time to derail their conversations to something different. They won’t be getting anything else done anyways.

“High school. It was the only class I liked taking besides math.” Wonwoo smiles. “My teacher was really cool.”

Mingyu has to physically hold himself back from puking, because  _ math. _ But he nods anyways. Wonwoo shrugs.

“What about you? What do you want to be?”

Mingyu laughs, leaning his head back to look up at the ceiling. He sighs.

“I have no idea.”

“You’re a sophomore, right?” Wonwoo asks. Mingyu nods and leans back up, peering at the older. There’s no look of judgement on his face. “You don’t have any idea?”

Mingyu shrugs. “Every gen ed class I take, I hate.”

“All of them?”

“The only one I kind of liked was political science.”

“Well, that’s a start.” Wonwoo leans back up, and places his elbows on the table. He rests his chin atop his hands and smiles. “Maybe take some more classes in that department.”

Mingyu shrugs. He hasn’t really thought about it, despite being a semester and a half away from being halfway done with his college career. His parents are already saving for a fifth year, though.

They sit there in silence for a few moments, Wonwoo flipping through his notebook, Mingyu picking at his pencil. Mingyu isn’t really sure what else to say. It’s not awkward though, which is surprising. Actually, the entire time it hasn’t been awkward in the slightest. It’s been kind of nice, if Mingyu is being honest. He’s enjoyed his time, despite not knowing what the fuck was going on.

“Hey, Mingyu?” Wonwoo asks after a couple of minutes, once he’s put up his textbooks and notebooks. Mingyu looks up at him, an eyebrow raised. It falls, though, once he realizes how nervous Wonwoo looks. Suddenly, he’s nervous himself.

“Yeah?”

“Did we...the last time you stayed over...did we, uh, you know-”

All of the blood drains from Mingyu’s face, because Wonwoo was supposed to  _ remember. _ He clears his throat awkwardly and shakes his head, his face now red too.

“No.”

“Oh.” Wonwoo sighs, like he’s letting out a breath he had been holding in. “Thank God.”

Mingyu swallows the lump in his throat.

“Not that- I didn’t mean it like that. Just, you know, I would want to remember it.” Wonwoo leans back into his chair and drops his hands to his lap. “That wasn’t a bad ‘Thank God’.”

“Okay.” Mingyu doesn’t know how else to respond.

Wonwoo nods, and then they don’t say anything for several seconds. Suddenly, though, Wonwoo stands from his chair and walks over to the door, before closing it and making his way back to the table. Mingyu doesn’t say anything, just watches him with calculating eyes.

“Do you like me?” Wonwoo asks as soon as he sits back down, his eyes staring straight into Mingyu’s. It catches him off guard.

“Um, uh.”

“Because I think I like you. I don’t know you that well, but I think I want to get to know you better.”

Mingyu is just happy that they’re having this conversation sober.

“You’re cute.” he manages, his throat suddenly dry as all hell. Wonwoo rolls his eyes at him.

“I would hope that you find me cute, especially because we’ve already had sex.”

Mingyu just stares straight ahead; Wonwoo sighs.

“Tell me if I’m wasting my time telling you all of this.”

Mingyu sighs. Wonwoo isn’t, he just doesn’t know how to respond to him.

“You’re not.” he finally says. “I...like you too?”

“Don’t hurt yourself.” Wonwoo chuckles. Mingyu reddens again. “I don’t normally...do this.”

Mingyu raises an eyebrow in question. “Do what?”

“Date. Especially a guy.”

Mingyu was not aware that dating was a topic on the table. Maybe it just didn’t register with him, because Wonwoo gives him a deadpan look when Mingyu looks confused.

“You want to date me?”

“Kind of? I don’t know.” Wonwoo shrugs. He looks awkward again. “For right now, can I have your number?”

Mingyu lets out the breath he wasn’t aware he had been holding in, and nods. He fishes his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it, before bringing up his keypad and then sliding it over to Wonwoo.

“Yes.”

Wonwoo smiles and grabs the phone, quickly typing in his number before sliding it back. Mingyu grins and stuffs it into his back pocket. It’s not the most  _ flirtatious _ way he’s ever gotten a number, but it’ll work.

“I’ll text you.” Mingyu promises, because texting Wonwoo right now with his name, like he does with most people he obtains numbers from, would be  _ lame. _ Wonwoo just grins and nods.

“Okay.” Wonwoo sighs. “I, um, actually have to get to a class.”

Mingyu almost knocks over his chair, he stands up so fast. Wonwoo gives him a weird look, though he laughs, and picks up his backpack from the floor. Mingyu does the same, stuffing his last notebook into the bag before slinging it over his shoulder.

“Will I see you in psych tomorrow?” Wonwoo asks, as he makes his way towards the door from the other side of the table. Mingyu hates psychology, a lot actually, but he’s decided that he’ll probably go to every class that’s left this semester.

“Yeah.”

“Really?” Wonwoo looks skeptical, but Mingyu just smiles and nods at him in reassurance. “Well, then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He places his hand on the doorknob, ready to open it up, and Mingyu is more than happy to let him, but something overcomes him and suddenly he leans down and  _ places a kiss on Wonwoo’s cheek. _ He doesn’t even realize he’s done it until Wonwoo drops his hand from the doorknob in shock, and his face turns bright red, and he pretty much gasps. Mingyu, embarrassed to hell and back, opens the door himself and walks straight through it.

“Bye!” he throws over his shoulder, as quiet as he can manage because he’s in the  _ library, _ and then he hastily makes his way down the hallway and towards the stairs.

He doesn’t turn around to see if Wonwoo has followed him, and instead just basically runs to his car, ignoring the slight pain emanating from his ankle.

 

~

 

“Did he really say that?” Vernon asks, his eyes wide as he stares at Mingyu. Mingyu nods and stuffs another chip into his mouth, while he reclines back into his seat and props his feet up on the back of the chair in front of him. They’re in one of the lecture halls, waiting for their weekly fraternity meeting to start. Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Soonyoung are standing at the front of the room, though they haven’t addressed everyone yet. Minghao is nowhere to be found; Mingyu is pretty sure he’s with Seokmin, because he can’t find him either. 

“Say what?” Chan asks from where he’s sat next to Mingyu, on his right. Mingyu can’t turn to look at him, because every time he does he laughs at Chan’s helmet, and Chan gets mad.

“Jeonghan said that we don’t  _ actually _ have a big rivalry with Theta Phi.” Vernon explains. Mingyu had only told him a few minutes ago, mostly because he forgot but also because he hasn’t seen the younger since the soccer game, where he couldn’t talk to him about it anyways.

“So?” Chan says, and Mingyu peers at him out of the corner of his eye, before snorting into his bag of chips. Chan swats him on the shoulder.

_ “So.” _ Vernon says, and then takes a deep breath. “That means I can date Seungkwan.”

“Woah, _ what?” _ Chan asks, leaning practically over Mingyu’s lap to stare at Vernon. “Since when do you want to  _ date _ Seungkwan?”

“Since forever, dude.” Vernon shrugs. “I just realized it though.”

“He told me about it at the bar, that one night you said you had to study and couldn’t go out with us.”

Mingyu’s not sure how he’d feel bringing the younger out anyways; Chan is practically a child.

“Oh.” Chan draws out, nodding and leaning back in his chair. “So, are you going to tell him?”

“Yeah.” Vernon nods. “At some point. But-”

Vernon is cut off, though, because the room suddenly goes silent. Somehow, they’ve missed Seungcheol telling them all to shut up because they’re about to start the meeting. Which means that they have to stand up and recite their opening ‘motto’, which Mingyu still doesn’t know. He sighs and heaves himself out of his chair, swallowing his bite of chips before joining in at the parts of the saying that he does actually remember.

When they’re done he sits back down in his chair and hikes his legs up again, taking extra care to not bump his ankle. He goes back to eating his chips while Jeonghan pulls up the powerpoint for the night on the projector. Seungcheol sits down on his stool, and when the powerpoint is finally up and working, he gathers everyone’s attention again.

“Hey guys.” he greets, his voice booming through the room. Mingyu has gotten used to it.

“We don’t have a lot to go through today, but the stuff that we do have to talk about is important, so listen up.”

The powerpoint moves to the next slide, which talks about finances and other business that Mingyu isn’t concerned with. He paid all of his fees in one installment at the beginning of the semester, that way he wouldn’t have to worry about it. The only other things he has to worry about money wise are fines if he gets them, and extra events that may cost to participate in. So he blocks most of it out, and only tunes in again when Soonyoung steps up to give his report.

“New members, your binders were due last week, so everyone sitting in here got them in, because we kicked out the three guys that didn’t.”

_ Well. _

“You should still be doing your pledge duties. The only person that has special permission not to is Kim Mingyu, because he’s hurt.”

Mingyu groans as nearly the entire chapter turns around to look at him. He subtly flips Soonyoung off when they all turn back around, and Soonyoung just grins at him.

“Now, the fun stuff.” Soonyoung smirks as the powerpoint flips to the next slide, which reads just a giant ‘HOMECOMING’. Mingyu groans again, quietly, and throws his head back. “Seokmin, if you want to explain.”

Mingyu looks back towards the front of the room and watches as Seokmin makes his way over to where Soonyoung is. Now that Mingyu knows that Minghao isn’t with Seokmin, and that the latter is actually here, he starts to get a little concerned. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and pulls up Minghao’s thread, but doesn’t text him just yet, because Seokmin starts talking.

“Hey guys.” he greets. He looks a little nervous, like he hasn’t done this before. “I’m this year’s homecoming chair. Um.”

He looks towards Jeonghan and asks him to switch the slide, and Mingyu takes this time to text Minghao.

 

**where are you? <**

 

“We just got our pairings yesterday. This year we’re with Sigma Chi Omega, and Beta Theta Phi.” 

There are more fraternities on campus than there are sororities, so each year each sorority gets paired with two different fraternities. Usually, though, they get paired with a big fraternity, like Kappa Mu or Theta Phi, and then a smaller one like the agriculture or engineering fraternities.  _ Never _ do they get paired with two big fraternities though.  _ Sigma Chi must be having a field day with this, _ Mingyu thinks.

“Um, I’ve already talked the the Sigma Chi chair, her name is Maddie, and since it’s us and Theta Phi, she’s like, already expecting us to win. I guess they’re all pretty excited?”

Mingyu could have guessed that. He turns and looks at Vernon, who looks excited himself. Vernon catches his glance and smiles at Mingyu.

“We get to work with Seungkwan.”

Mingyu smiles and nods.  _ And Wonwoo, _ he thinks in the back of his mind. He must have done something good in his past life.

“Pomping starts next week, and because the Sigma Chi basement is getting redone right now, we have to do everything at the Theta Phi house. I’ll be sending an email out later this week with dates and stuff.” Seokmin finishes and turns back to Soonyoung, who takes the cue and grins out at everyone.

“Right.” Mingyu watches as Seokmin sits back down, his face flushed. He wonders how he got roped into being the homecoming chair. “So, just like last year, new members, you get to do a lot of the work!”

Soonyoung says it like it’s a privilege, but Mingyu glares down at him anyways. He knows damn well that it isn’t a privilege at all.

“Hours for pomping go by member class. I’ll send them out in an email as well, but new members, just know each week you’re doing 10.”

The room erupts in protests and groans, Vernon and Chan included, and Mingyu would make a fuss too but Minghao chooses then to text him back. He peers down at his phone, and his eyebrows furrow together when he reads the message.

 

**> come to the spot now pls**

 

“Uh, guys, I have to go.” Mingyu says immediately, stuffing his half-eaten bag of chips into Chan’s lap and quietly standing up. Both Vernon and Chan give him a weird look, and he just  _ knows _ that Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Soonyoung are watching him, but he doesn’t really care. He just quickly makes his way out of the lecture hall, typing out a message to send back to Minghao on the way. 

 

**are you okay? <**

**> fine. hurry.**

 

Minghao  _ knows _ that the meeting is going on right now, so that’s why Mingyu is so concerned. He pockets his phone and speed-walks out of the building, heading towards where ‘the spot’ is. 

The second week of school last year, Mingyu and Minghao had found a little alleyway in between two of the college buildings on the outskirts of the campus. They immediately deemed it ‘the spot’, and now use it to tell the other things that they don’t want others to be present for. Usually it’s pretty serious stuff, like when Mingyu told Minghao his grandma had died last November, so Mingyu is kind of scared. He quickly makes his way to the spot, his heartbeat picking up as he goes. 

He finds Minghao pacing up and down the alleyway once he arrives, and he doesn’t say anything, just walks up to the other and places a hand on his shoulder. Minghao immediately stills, and then turns to face Mingyu, his face extremely pale.

“What’s wrong?” Mingyu asks. Minghao crumples and leans against the wall next to them, sliding down it until he’s sitting on the ground. Mingyu follows.

“I’m fucked.”

“What’d you do?”

Minghao groans and leans his head back against the cement wall behind him. Mingyu sits next to him and lets him gather his thoughts, not saying anything.

“I was eating dinner.”

Mingyu knows this. Mingyu was doing homework that he  _ had _ to do because he already has a C in the class, so Minghao had to go get Chick-fil-a by himself. They snapchatted. Minghao tried to make him feel guilty, Mingyu was perfectly content with his ramen noodles.

“And...and…”

“Minghao, just tell me.” Mingyu sighs. He’s expecting the worse, because the younger is  _ freaking out. _

“Jun walked up to me.”

Mingyu stills.  _ What. _

“And he  _ sat down next to me.” _

“Minghao.”

“No. We, like, ate dinner together.”

_ “Minghao.” _

**“** We talked the whole time. And then I told him that I had to go to the meeting.”

“Okay?” Mingyu has no idea where this is going, but Minghao looks  _ devastated. _

“So he walked me to the building.”

Mingyu nods. Minghao groans and slams his head back against the wall again.

“He kissed me goodbye.”

Mingyu’s eyes widen.  _ Oh. _ Well, fuck.

“And I just stood there, and he pulled away and started to apologize, and I fucking leaned in and kissed him myself! It was like a cheesy chick flick.” Minghao turns and stares at Mingyu, horror in his eyes. “Mingyu, I’m the cliche white girl in a chick flick.”

Mingyu just gapes at his best friend.

“You pulled me out of the meeting, which means  _ I get in trouble, _ just because you’re having a gay crisis.” Mingyu deadpans. Minghao nods.

“Yes. Because I pulled him back here and we made out until he had to leave and I don’t know how to  _ feel.” _

Mingyu grimaces.

“Gross. You tainted ‘the spot’.”

Minghao rolls his eyes. “Tell me what to do.”

“Do you like him?”

“I’m not gay.”

Mingyu rolls his eyes again. “I didn’t say you were.  _ Do you like him?” _

“Maybe? But Mingyu, he’s so  _ greasy.” _

“Greasy?” Mingyu lifts an eyebrow. Jun’s hair is nice, he has to admit. It isn’t  _ greasy. _

“He told me that he thought I was cute, and that he can’t wait to see me again, and then fucking winked at me.”

Mingyu isn’t exactly sure what ‘greasy’ actually means, but he figures that it fits the situation. He shrugs at his best friend.

“I really don’t know what to tell you.” he admits. He’s not particularly good at this stuff,  _ obviously. _

“You started this, you know.” Minghao says, turning his head to peer up at Mingyu. Mingyu gives him a weird look. “With Wonwoo. Now all of us are being affected by Theta Phi guys.”

Minghao only knows about Vernon and Seungkwan because Mingyu was slightly drunk when he got back to his apartment after the club, and he didn’t know what to do. He sighs.

“Sorry.”

“Yeah.” Minghao takes a deep breath and slumps against Mingyu’s shoulder. Mingyu doesn’t mind, just throws an arm over his distressed friend’s shoulders and pulls him close.

“I’m not gay.”

“I know.”

“I don’t know if I like Jun.”

“That’s okay.”

“But I liked kissing him.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm.”

Minghao sighs again.

“I’m not gay.”

Mingyu rolls his eyes.

“Okay, Minghao.”


	6. Chapter 6

**> is he there?**

 

Mingyu squints and peers around the room, looking for _Jun._ He doesn’t see him. In fact, he doesn’t recognize any of the Theta Phi’s, except for Seungkwan, who’s pressed up against Vernon and not even pomping.

 

**no <**

**> k. I’ll be there in 10**

 

Mingyu rolls his eyes and locks his phone, pocketing it and going back to rolling. He’s got a colored pencil in one hand, and a piece of tissue paper in the other, and he hardly ever does his homework but he figures that it would be more exciting than _this._ Especially since the sorority girls in the room, which accounts for nearly all of the people except for his fellow pledges, are blasting the Top 40s playlist through loud speakers. Mingyu hasn’t liked a single song yet.

“Who ya’ texting?” Seokmin asks, nodding towards Mingyu. He doesn’t have to be here, he’s a second year, but Mingyu figures that it would look kind of bad if the homecoming chair didn’t show up. Seokmin looks like he’s enjoying himself anyways, mostly due to the fact that he knows every word to every song that plays on the speakers. Seungkwan does, too; Mingyu’s had an earful, and he’s only been in the basement for about 30 minutes.

“Minghao.” Mingyu tells him, shrugging. “He’ll be here soon.”

“Why didn’t he just come with you?” Vernon asks. He, at least, is attempting to help, even though it’s apparently been Seungkwan’s mission to distract him. Mingyu honestly can’t tell if anything has _happened_ between the two yet, because they’re always like this.

He shrugs again. He can’t exactly tell the group that his best friend has had a gay crisis, and is fearful of seeing _Wen Jun Hui_ at all times.

“Don’t know.”

“Hm.” Vernon says, and places a rolled piece of paper into the ‘finished’ box. “Hey, did you guys hear about that ‘Rockstar’ thing?”

“Yeah. I’m the Rockstar this year.” Seungkwan answers before any of the rest of them can say anything. Vernon drops his hands into his lap and glares at the other.

“What? You didn’t tell me that.” He turns to Seokmin, raising an eyebrow. “Who’s our Rockstar?”

“Uh.” Seokmin chuckles, and then shrugs. Mingyu has no idea what’s going on. He chances a glance at Chan, and one look at the younger confirms that he doesn’t either. “Me.”

“You? Since when?”

“Since Soonyoung texted me last night and told me.” Seokmin explains. He then turns to Chan and Mingyu, grin on his face. “It’s a singing competition that greek life does during homecoming.”

“Oh.” Chan drawls out. Mingyu just nods. He honestly doesn’t care who their ‘Rockstar’ is, but Seokmin is an incredible singer, so he supposes that they’ll do fine. He’s never heard Seungkwan sing, apart from shouting along to random songs that come on, so he’s kind of excited to see how it goes.

“What else goes on during homecoming week?” Chan then asks, putting down his own utensils so that he can listen to Seokmin. Mingyu is about to do the same, because he _is_ a little intrigued (Minghao had never participated last year, really, which meant he never talked about it), but then someone drops down next to him, and it catches his attention. He turns, and _speak of the devil._

“His car is here.” Minghao chokes out, his face flushed and his hair disheveled. Mingyu grimaces at him.

“Did you run here?”

“No, just from the front door.”

“I actually hate you.” Mingyu bends forward and grabs a colored pencil from the center of the group, and then hands it to Minghao, who sighs.

“I didn’t see him, though.”

“Oh, thank God.” Mingyu replies sarcastically. Minghao hits him on the shoulder and then begins to pomp, ignoring Mingyu’s snickering.

They sit like that for awhile. Seokmin tells an attentive Vernon, Seungkwan, and Chan stories from last year’s homecoming, and Mingyu and Minghao bicker quietly back and forth, while they all attempt to get some pomping done. Nobody bothers them. In fact, the only reason that Mingyu even looks up from his paper and pencil is because his phone buzzes in his pocket, telling him that he has a text.

He puts his pencil and newly rolled piece of paper down, and then reaches for his phone. He unlocks it without checking the notification on his lock screen and then goes to his messages, pulling them up. He’s surprised to find that it was _Wonwoo_ who had texted him, and stares blankly down at his phone, shielding it from everyone else’s view.

 

**> you wore that shirt the night we met, if i remember correctly**

 

Mingyu’s head immediately snaps up, and he glances around the room, looking for the older boy. He finds him sitting straight across from him, on the ground while he leans up against the wall behind him. He must have just arrived, because Woozi and Joshua are with him, and none of the three were there 5 minutes ago.

 

**Are you really texting me when we’re in the same room? <**

**> yes**

 

Mingyu rolls his eyes as he texts out his reply.

 

**when’d you get here? <**

**> just now. got back from a committee meeting**

 

Mingyu had no idea Wonwoo was on a committee. He quirks up an eyebrow.

 

**you’re involved? <**

**> shut up**

 

Mingyu snickers and looks up from his phone, staring straight at Wonwoo. Wonwoo is already looking at him, a smirk on his face. Mingyu smirks back and then goes back to his phone.

 

**you planning on pomping? <**

**> hell no. the pledges do that.**

**> actually, i was wondering if you wanted to go get dinner?**

 

Mingyu ate an hour ago, but suddenly he’s starving. He smiles, and bites his lip so that he’s not so obvious, and thumbs at the keyboard.

 

**ya. right now? <**

**> yep. I have to go change, meet me outside in the back in 10?**

 

Mingyu just looks up and nods at Wonwoo, who’s still looking at him. Wonwoo nods once back, and then stands up from the floor, before mumbling something to Joshua and then disappearing into the crowd. Mingyu sighs and pockets his phone.

“Minghao’s here, so who are you texting _now?”_ Vernon asks him, startling him a little. Mingyu turns back to the group and finds them all staring at him, aside from Seokmin, who’s texting someone himself. Mingyu shrugs.

“No one.” He pushes his pencil and unrolled tissue paper into the center of their circle, and then stands up. “I have to go, gotta finish some homework.”

“It’s a Thursday night.” Minghao deadpans, definitely not buying it. “And you don’t do homework.”

“Yes I do.” Mingyu replies defensively. Minghao just quirks an eyebrow at him, to which Mingyu waves him off with a roll of his eyes.

“No, you don’t, but whatever.”

“I have to do this.” Mingyu explains, because he doesn’t know what else to say. Chan buys it, because he smiles and nods, and Vernon either doesn’t believe him or doesn’t care because he just goes back to talking to Seungkwan, but Minghao just stares up at him.

“Text me.”

“Will do.” Mingyu replies, because really, he can’t (and won’t) keep anything from Minghao. “See you guys later.”

A chorus of goodbye’s are shouted behind him as he makes his way towards the staircase. Once he gets to it he climbs the stairs two at a time, and he’s really not sure how to navigate through the house, but eventually he finds a hallway that has an exit door at the end of it and makes his way to it. He pushes the door open and is met with the concrete of the back porch. Wonwoo isn’t there, so Mingyu just walks over towards the hand railing, leaning up against it and pulling his phone out of his pocket.

He’s one turn into _8 Ball_ with Minghao when someone taps him on the shoulder.

“Hey.” he’s greeted with Wonwoo’s face, which is sporting a pair of glasses that have Mingyu weak at the knees. He’s also wearing a button up shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, and Mingyu has come to find that this is Wonwoo’s typical look, but it still gets to him every time.

“Hi.” Mingyu grins back. He doesn’t hide the fact that he’s totally checking Wonwoo out. “You look good.”

Wonwoo blushes and rolls his eyes, and then grabs Mingyu’s upper arm and tugs him towards the parking lot. He doesn’t say anything as they walk through the cars, not until they come up on a black Civic.

“Hop in.” Wonwoo says, and then leaves Mingyu’s side so that he can get in on the driver’s side. Mingyu smiles and climbs into the passenger side.

“Where to?” he asks as soon as he’s buckled and staring back at Wonwoo’s side profile. Wonwoo starts the car up and then begins to back out of his parking spot, not once looking at Mingyu.

“There’s this little cafe I like downtown.” he explains, before driving out of the parking lot. “Has really good sandwiches. Is that okay?”

Wonwoo could take Mingyu to a food truck on the side of the highway for all he cares. He nods and smiles.

Mingyu had texted Wonwoo the night after their study session, informing him that it was him and then thanking him once again for his help. Since then, they’ve _kind of_ been texting, but it hasn’t been anything major. Mingyu is actually really surprised that Wonwoo had reached out to him at all tonight, if he’s being honest. He didn’t know they were at a point where they could do stuff like that.

The drive to the cafe is fairly quiet, though it isn’t awkward. Mingyu stares out the window and listens to the music Wonwoo has playing in the background, which is some kind of alternative rock that oddly fits his personality. It’s nice, and a hell of a lot better than listening to that tragic Top 40s playlist.

They pull up to a small little building in the middle of downtown, that’s not bustling with people but is still fairly populated. Wonwoo parks his car in one of the spots in front of a shop a few doors down and then the two of them get out and head down the sidewalk, without saying anything to the either. Mingyu just stuffs his hands in his pockets and blushes when Wonwoo holds the door open for him.

This particular cafe is the type where you order up front, and then they bring your food out to your table for you. It reminds Mingyu of _Panera,_ or something of that nature. He stands towards the back of the entrance and looks up at the menu, contemplating on all of the choices there are. He has no idea what half of the stuff even is.

“What’s good here?” Mingyu asks Wonwoo, once he’s decided that he won’t be able to make the decision on his own. Wonwoo turns around and looks up at him, shrugging.

“I always get the mac and cheese.”

Mingyu squints at the elder, clearly judging him.

_“Mac and cheese?”_

“Yeah, it’s really good.” Wonwoo smiles. “Jun says that the paninis here are pretty good, if that’s more your style. I’ve never tried them.”

Mingyu nods, and notes it down. He also files the fact that Wonwoo eats actual _children’s food_ in the back of his mind, and then looks back up at the menu, gazing over the panini section. He settles on a turkey and cheese panini with spinach, ‘hipster’ is all he can think, and then steps up to the register behind Wonwoo.

“I’ll have a bowl of mac and cheese, a drink, and then whatever he’s getting.” Wonwoo points behind him, and it takes Mingyu a second before he realizes that Wonwoo is talking about him.

“Oh, no, it’s fine-”

“Here, I’ll just go ahead and give this to you.” Wonwoo hands his credit card over to the smirking cashier. He turns around and levels Mingyu with a look, and it’s meant to be menacing, but it makes him look 100X more adorable.

“I asked you out.”

“Yeah, but I can pay.”

“Next time you can pay.”

“Next time?”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes and turns back around. Mingyu looks at the cashier, who’s still smirking at the two of them, and sighs.

“I’ll have the turkey and cheese panini. And a drink.”

“Woah, I’m not loaded.” Wonwoo mumbles, shaking his head. Mingyu immediately feels bad and is about to tell the cashier that he just wants a water cup instead, but then Wonwoo starts laughing. Mingyu sighs again.

“I’m kidding.” the older confesses. He pushes his hair back with one hand (Mingyu openly stares at him) and takes his credit card back with the other once the cashier has run it through. He takes his receipt, and then walks away from the cash register, leaving Mingyu gaping after him.

“You guys are really cute together.” the cashier says once Wonwoo is out of earshot. Mingyu turns to her and scrunches his eyebrows together.

“Um. We’re not dating.”

“You sure?” the cashier giggles and then turns around to the kitchen window, ignoring Mingyu. Mingyu just simply takes his cup from the counter and stalks off after Wonwoo.

He finds him at the drink station, filling his cup up with sprite. Mingyu snorts and fills his own with coke, and then the two of them find a table towards the back of the restaurant. Mingyu doesn’t try to pull Wonwoo’s chair out for him, or anything like that, because he’s not sure that it would be received well. Instead he just slides into the booth parallel to Wonwoo’s chair, and sets his drink down on the table.

“Thank you for paying.” he says once Wonwoo is situated across from him. Wonwoo looks up and smiles, nodding.

“No problem.”

Mingyu grins and leans back in the booth. Things get quiet after that, and like the car it isn’t awkward, but Mingyu would rather be talking, so leans _back_ up and places his elbows on the table.

“Is this a date?”

Wonwoo flashes Mingyu a puzzled look.

“Yes?”

“Yes?”

“I mean, yeah. It is. Or at least I thought it was.”

Mingyu’s grin grows.

“Okay.” He leans back, and settles his hands in his lap. “I’m glad.”

Wonwoo nods.

“Except,” Mingyu continues, and let’s his gaze fall on Wonwoo, who looks suddenly nervous. “I thought you said that you didn’t date. And you’ve never been with a guy before, so I just assumed…”

“Oh.” Wonwoo clears his throat a little awkwardly. “Yeah. I don’t date. I haven’t since high school. And I’ve never been with a guy for anything before, so this is new to me.”

Wonwoo pauses and Mingyu doesn’t know if this is when he says something, or…?

“Something about you makes me want to try it out, though.”

“That was cheesy.” Mingyu says on impulse. His eyes widen once he realizes what he’s said, though. Luckily Wonwoo doesn’t seem phased; he just cracks a smile and nods.

“I know.” Wonwoo chuckles. “What about you? Any bad breakups I should know about?”

“No.” Mingyu tells him. There was one girl his senior year of high school, but it didn’t last long and he was never torn up about it, and since then it’s just been random hook ups here and there. Nothing major, his love life has been pretty boring thus far.

“Really?” Wonwoo asks. He’s about to say something else, but then a waiter walks up to the two of them and proceeds to hand them their food. Mingyu takes his plate with a grateful smile and sets it down on the table in front of him, but he doesn’t start eating, because Wonwoo continues to talk.

“I figured you would have had people lining up to date you.”

“What?” Mingyu laughs, oblivious. “Why would you think that?”

“You’re...look at you.” Wonwoo’s face turns bright red, and he looks down at his bowl of mac and cheese.

“Oh. Um.”

“Yeah.”

Mingyu watches as Wonwoo picks up his spoon and shoves a bite of his pasta into his mouth. He smiles and then goes to town on his own food, taking a large bite of his panini ad ignoring the way that his face heats up.

They don’t talk much while they eat. Wonwoo asks if Mingyu likes his food, Mingyu says yes, Wonwoo complains about the garnish they put on the mac and cheese because he thinks it tastes like grass, Mingyu tells him that he’s not supposed to eat it, Wonwoo doesn’t speak the remainder of the time because he’s embarrassed. Mingyu just sits and stares at the elder after he’s done with his sandwich because he thinks Wonwoo is the cutest thing ever.

“So.” Wonwoo mumbles once he’s done with his food, which took him about a year and a half to eat. Mingyu files ‘slow eater’ away in his newly formed ‘Wonwoo’ folder in the back of his brain.  

“So.”

“I don’t want you to be my boyfriend.”

Mingyu doesn’t say a word. Honestly, Wonwoo confuses him.

“Not yet.”

_Ah._

“Just so we’re clear.”

“Okay.”

“But someday.”

“Okay.”

“And I still don’t want to go...public.”

“My best friend knows about you.” Mingyu confesses. “He’s the one I’m always with, and I can’t really keep anything from him.”

“Oh.” Wonwoo nods, Mingyu is thankful that he doesn’t look upset. “Minghao, right?”

“Yes.” Mingyu tells him. He’s not sure how Wonwoo knows his name, but he thinks he has an idea.

“Jun talks about him a lot. I heard about their...thing...a couple of days ago.”

Mingyu doesn’t mean to snort as loud as he does. Wonwoo cracks a smile and lets out a little bit of laughter himself.

“You heard about it too?”

“Minghao pulled me out of chapter because he was freaking out over it.”

“Jun just called me and yelled in my ear for an hour about how he wasn’t gay.”

Mingyu laughs again because _oh boy, these two are perfect for each other._

“Minghao told me the same thing. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he might be a little gay.”

Wonwoo laughs again and runs a hand through his hair, leaning back in his chair. Mingyu about drools, because the older is _fucking attractive._ All thoughts of Jun and Minghao and their denial leave his mind, and instead he focuses solely on the other man in front of him.

“Are you ready to get out of here?” Wonwoo asks after a few moments, which Mingyu has spent watching him stack his napkins and silverware on his plate. Mingyu nods and gathers up all of his trash on his own plate, and then the two of them walk over to a trashcan, where they throw their stuff away. They then make their out of the restaurant, and back to Wonwoo’s car.

The walk back is fairly silent, and Mingyu notices how chilly it’s gotten out as they go. It’s nearing the middle of October, so the weather has gotten progressively worse, and Mingyu hates it. Luckily Wonwoo turns the heat on as soon as they’re situated in the car.

“I can take you home.” Wonwoo offers, glancing sideways at Mingyu. Mingyu’s apartment isn’t far from Greek Row, he could definitely walk from the Theta house, but he goes ahead and nods anyways. Wonwoo smiles and throws his car in reverse, backing out of the parking spot and continuing down the road.

Mingyu directs him to his apartment, and it only takes them about 5 minutes to get there. There are hardly any cars out on the road, and downtown is pretty close to campus anyways. When they finally do arrive Wonwoo parks his car next to the curb of the road and turns to Mingyu, a shy smile on his face.

“I had fun tonight.”

For a first ‘date’, Mingyu couldn’t really ask for anything better. He had fun too.

“Yeah, me too.”

“I’m sorry if you want to like, take things further, but I just-”

“It’s fine.” Mingyu waves the older off. He understands, a little, not a lot, but a little.

“Okay.” Wonwoo sighs.

“Uh.” Mingyu doesn’t know where to go from that. He really doesn’t have a lot of experience with this kind of stuff, unless it’s hooking up, and he kind of-

“Do you want to come up?” he spits out, before he can stop himself. Wonwoo’s eyes widen to about the size of saucers. Mingyu, embarrassed and already panicking, tries to take back his words, but then Wonwoo cuts him off.

“Sure.”

“Oh.” Mingyu lets out the breath he had unknowingly been holding in and nods. He doesn’t say anything else as he climbs out of the car. Wonwoo follows, and together they make their way up to Mingyu’s floor. The entire time all Mingyu can think is that they’re _doing this backwards,_ because he has the full intent of at least aggressively making out with Wonwoo.

Mingyu unlocks his door rather quickly, but only because he’s afraid his hands will start shaking if he doesn’t get through the threshold sometime soon. Once he’s through he lets out another breath and quickly scans his apartment, afraid that he’ll find dirty clothes lying around, or even worse, _Minghao._ He doesn’t find either, _thank God,_ so he turns around and faces Wonwoo head on.

“Welcome.”

“Thanks.” Wonwoo snorts. “I like it.”

Mingyu shrugs. It’s simple, but it works.

“It’s not much, but it does the job.” he explains. Suddenly, he remembers something. “Hey, since you’re a junior, why do you still live in the house?”

Usually only sophomores and officers live in the house, but both Jun and Wonwoo, who are _juniors,_ do and Mingyu has always wondered why.

“Oh.” Wonwoo smiles and shrugs. “I’m the scholarship chair, so I have to.”

It’s fitting that Wonwoo is the scholarship chair. If Mingyu had to guess, the older’s GPA was probably a 4.0. He doesn’t ask though; he can save that for another time. Instead, he just nods, and then walks over to his kitchen table. He toes off his shoes and sets his phone, wallet, and keys down on the table. Wonwoo does the same, and then the two of them just stand there, staring at the other.

“So…”

“You and I both know that you didn’t invite me up here to make small talk.” Wonwoo drawls out, a bored expression written across his face. Mingyu chokes a little, but nods.

“I just thought that, you know, since you don’t, like-”

“I don’t want to date you, I’m not fucking celibate.”

“Right.” Mingyu smirks, and bites back a laugh, because the way Wonwoo is looking up at him is kind of hilarious. He looks thoroughly annoyed and Mingyu would milk it, except he kind of wants to kiss the older _right the fuck now,_ so he doesn’t.

“I’m gonna kiss you now.” he tells him. Wonwoo rolls his eyes, and he doesn’t reply, just grabs the front of Mingyu’s shirt and tugs him down. Mingyu goes without any hesitation and then suddenly they’re kissing, pressed hot up against each other.

It’s different than the first time they kissed. Mainly because Mingyu had been high as hell, _and_ a little bit drunk, but also because neither of them seem as desperate. It’s slow and kind of passionate and Mingyu doesn’t really know what to do with his hands because he’s flustered. He ends up not having to do anything with them, though, because Wonwoo pulls away and stares up at him with swollen lips and dark eyes.

“Do you have a room?”

“Yes.”

Mingyu doesn’t move.

“Want to show me it?”

Mingyu gets the message loud and clear and nods, reaching down to grab Wonwoo’s wrist before he tugs him towards his room. He all but kicks the door open when they get there, and then continues to tug Wonwoo forward, until they reach the bed.

Wonwoo had been aggressive before. He had pushed Mingyu around and had initiated most of everything that went on. Tonight, though? He just stares up at Mingyu with wide eyes. Mingyu sighs. He flips them around so that Wonwoo’s back is facing the bed, and the nudges him backwards, until the older sits down on the edge of the mattress.

“What-”

“I kind of want to ride you. Never done that before.”

Mingyu chokes and has to cough until he regains his breath.

“Have you even ever-”

“No.”

“Good _God.”_ Mingyu rasps out, now completely turned on. He pushes Wonwoo back onto his back and then straddles him, leaning down and capturing his lips once more. Wonwoo sighs into the kiss and clutches at the front of Mingyu’s t shirt almost desperately.

Mingyu wastes no time in ridding Wonwoo of his clothes. He tugs his shirt off first, and spends a good amount of time running his hands up and down the other’s torso before he gets to work on his jeans. He unbuttons them without fumbling once and then pushes them down Wonwoo’s thighs, until they’re far enough down so that Wonwoo can shimmy out of them. He leaves his boxers on and instead throws his own shirt off, before going back to Wonwoo’s lips.

And then he remembers something, and groans, before sitting up on Wonwoo’s thighs and running a hand through his hair.

“I don’t have condoms.”

“You’re an attractive college sophomore and you don’t own any condoms?”

“Correct.”

He has lube because if you’re going to jack off without any, you might as well just wrap a piece of carpet around your dick and go at it. So they’re good there. But no, Mingyu does not own any condoms.

“Well, guess we’ll just have to go without.”

“Oh.” Mingyu stays frozen in his spot, until Wonwoo knees him in the back and catches his attention again. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.” Wonwoo bites his lip and grins up at Mingyu, and Mingyu really has never moved so fast before. He climbs off of Wonwoo and reaches for his night stand, throwing open the bottom drawer and grabbing his bottle of lube. He doesn’t bother to shut it as he makes his way back to Wonwoo.

He doesn’t straddle the older this time, and instead pushes him up the bed before positioning himself in between his legs. Before he tugs off Wonwoo’s boxers, he looks up at the other and raises an eyebrow.

“Are you sure you’re sure? It’s your first time and I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m sure, Mingyu.” Wonwoo smiles his small smile again and motions for Mingyu to continue. Mingyu nods and grabs the hem of Wonwoo’s boxers, and then tugs them down his thighs before pulling them off of his legs and throwing them somewhere on the floor.

He’s seen many dicks, pornstar’s included, but he thinks that Wonwoo’s might be his favorite.

“Tell me if it hurts, or if you want me to stop at any time.” Mingyu tells Wonwoo, completely serious because he wants the older to know that he doesn’t _have_ to do this. Wonwoo just nods, and if Mingyu isn’t mistaken, he looks a little nervous. Mingyu smiles down at him and then proceeds to coat his fingers with the lube, before throwing the bottle to his side and pulling Wonwoo closer to him.

He’s done this once before, last year after a kickback at one of his friend’s apartments. He was crossfaded as hell, but he still remembers it, how the other man had practically frozen underneath him.

Wonwoo doesn’t do that. Instead, he practically melts into the bed, his head lulled back as he grips the comforter with white-knuckled fingers.

It takes awhile to get there, but eventually Wonwoo voices to Mingyu that he thinks he’s ready, so Mingyu pulls out and wipes his fingers on his bedsheets. He makes a mental note to wash them in the morning, and then grabs the bottle once again.

“You still want to, uh…”

“Ride you? Yeah.” Wonwoo smirks and sits up on the bed. Mingyu focuses in on his face, on the sweat that’s beaded up on his forehead and above his upper lip, and he surges forward before he can stop himself. He kisses Wonwoo, once, twice, three times, and then pulls away and smiles at the older. He then crawls up to the top of his bed, before propping himself up against the headboard and uncapping the lube bottle.

“Okay.” He squirts some of the liquid out onto his fingers, and gets to work. Wonwoo watches him, which makes it 1000% better, and when he decides he’s ready he throws the bottle onto his floor and pats his lap.

“Do not.” Wonwoo mutters, but climbs forward anyways, straddling Mingyu’s hips. His dick rests against Mingyu’s abdomen and Mingyu has to physically hold himself back from just flipping Wonwoo over and fucking him like that.

“Okay.” Wonwoo takes a deep breath and gets up on his knees, still over Mingyu’s hips. “Um.”

Mingyu pulls him into a short kiss and when he pulls away, he holds Wonwoo’s face close to his, and stares into his eyes.

“If it’s too much tell me.”

“Okay.” Wonwoo whispers. Mingyu lets go of his cheek and leans back onto his headboard. He watches as Wonwoo takes a deep breath, and then lines himself up.

Mingyu expects him to go slow. At a snail's pace, really. He’s prepared himself for it mentally and everything. That, however, is not the case. No, Wonwoo fucking goes _all_ out, pushes himself all the way down, and lets out the most pornographic noise Mingyu has ever heard.

“Oh my _fucking_ God, Jeon Wonwoo, what the-” Mingyu can’t finish his sentence because he gasps and lolls his head back against the headboard. He’s pretty sure he’s seeing stars, and his dick might even be broken, he’s not sure.

 _“Fuck.”_ Wonwoo nearly shouts, as he pumps himself up and down, not slowing in the least bit. Mingyu composes himself only so that he can place his hands on the older’s slim waist. He manages to watch as Wonwoo’s jaw falls slack and his raven hair falls into his face.

“You sure you haven’t done this before?” he chokes out, reaching one hand up so that he can push Wonwoo’s bangs out of his eyes. Wonwoo doesn’t reply, just shakes his head ‘no’ and continues.

Needless to say, they don’t last long. Hardly 10 minutes, actually, which is sad but also mind boggling for Mingyu because he’s never experienced such _good_ sex before. This completely blows their first time out of the water. He ends up cuming all over Wonwoo’s chest, and Wonwoo ends up coming all over his, and it’s _great._ He only moves because he needs to find a cloth, or some tissues, or _something._

“That was…” he mumbles once he has both himself and Wonwoo cleaned up. Wonwoo is sprawled out across one side of the bed, still naked, still not moving. He hasn’t since they finished. Mingyu drops down next to him after disposing of the napkin he had found and runs a hand through his disheveled hair.

“Yeah.” Wonwoo chokes out. His voice cracks.

“Are you staying here tonight?” Mingyu hopes Wonwoo does. Mostly because he kind of wants to cuddle him, but also because it’s late.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” Mingyu shifts up the bed and tugs his comforter out from underneath of him. He throws it onto the ground, because it’s gross, but he has a quilt at the end of the bed so he tugs that up and covers himself with it. Wonwoo follows, and digs himself under the quilt as well. There’s still a couple of inches in between the two of them.

A few minutes of silence pass between the two. Eventually Wonwoo shuffles again, and Mingyu is surprised when he presses up against his side, throwing his arm over Mingyu’s waist and burying his head in his chest. Mingyu smirks and nudges Wonwoo’s head with his own arm, placing his forearm under his head when he lifts it. Wonwoo tugs the quilt up until it’s covering most of his body, even though it leaves Mingyu half bare. Mingyu doesn’t mind.

“You know, this is the third time this has happened. Us in bed together, sleeping.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s kind of domestic.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to be your boyfriend?”

“Yeah.”

Mingyu chuckles and tugs Wonwoo closer. He throws his other arm over the smaller man, effectively cuddling him to his chest, and sighs.

He’s never been one to fall asleep _too_ quick, but he definitely does after that, all curled around Wonwoo protectively. Wonwoo is out before Mingyu can even tell him that he’ll wait however long the older wants him to.

A week ago, Mingyu was indifferent to the idea of dating Wonwoo. Now, he would metaphorically wife the man up in a heartbeat.


	7. Chapter 7

“I am going to throw my phone out the fucking window.”

Mingyu looks up from his textbook and glances across the table at Vernon. They’re in the library completing their required study hours for the fraternity for the week, and neither of them have moved in three hours. Mingyu didn’t know they even _had_ required study hours until Vernon had asked him if he had done his yet.

“Why?”

“Soonyoung keeps sending me fucking _Cha Cha_ asks.” Vernon huffs and slams his phone down on the wooden table, gaining the attention of everyone around them. They’re mostly whispering, but it’s definitely still a little loud for the library. Honestly, Mingyu had forgotten all about the pledge duties (his ankle feels fine, but he still tells Seungcheol that it hurts), so he snorts a little and shakes his head.

“What is he asking you?”

“Random questions that I’m pretty sure he’s getting off of google.” Vernon sighs and leans back into his chair. “He’s not the only one, either. I get at least 20 texts a day.”

This is the first time Mingyu is hearing about this. He laughs again, because it _is_ kind of funny. It still doesn’t beat whenever he sees Chan on campus with the helmet, though.

“When is this shit going to end? When do we get initiated?”

Mingyu shrugs. “They haven’t said, but I think it’s generally before winter break.” Minghao had gotten initiated at the beginning of November, but he told Mingyu that the class before him, Soonyoung’s class, got initiated in January. So really, he has no clue.

“This is fucking stupid.” Vernon groans again and closes his biology textbook. “I can’t study anymore, my head is about to explode.”

“Oh, thank God.” Mingyu slams his own textbook closed and stuffs it into his backpack. The only reason he’s stayed for so long is because Vernon hadn’t wanted to leave. He actually doesn’t have any homework he needs to turn in, so he’s been reading through his psych book for two out of the three hours instead.

“I’m going to go grab some food with Seungkwan, want to come?” Vernon asks while they stand up from the table. Mingyu snorts and begins to walk towards the exit, the younger following closely behind.

“No thanks.”

Vernon side-eyes him.

“I’d rather die than third-wheel you guys.” Mingyu explains. “By the way, what’s going on between you two? You make a move yet?”

Vernon shrugs. “I haven’t had the chance.”

Mingyu calls bullshit because if Vernon isn’t in class, or at Kappa events, he’s with Seungkwan. They’re roommates. They have a scheduled dinner time together in the dining hall. Mingyu knows not to text Vernon between 5:30 and 6:15 pm on weeknights, because he won’t get a response.

“Okay.” He decides to drop it. “I guess I’ll see you tonight then?”

They have a homecoming mixer with their pairings, Theta Phi and Chi Omega, at 9. Mingyu’s kind of pissed because it’s Friday, and he’s being forced to go to this _thing_ instead of going out and doing whatever the hell he wants. It’s at a club, which wouldn’t be so bad, except they’re being ‘strict’ on underaged drinking since it’s university sponsored. Meaning, Mingyu can’t drink, and neither can most of his friends, so he’s in for a long night.

Vernon must agree with him, because he rolls his eyes and sighs.

“Yeah. Woohoo.” he mutters, sarcastically. Mingyu laughs at him.

They part ways after that, with Vernon running off to find Seungkwan, and Mingyu making his way to his car. Once there, he throws his stuff in the back seat and then gets in, starting it up and pulling out of the parking lot.

He drives to his apartment. It’s 4:30 in the afternoon, but he’s done with his classes for the day and he has nothing else to do, so decides that spending the rest of the day until the mixer on his couch, catching up on TV shows, sounds pretty great.

Or at least, that’s the plan. It gets thrown out the window when he walks into his apartment and finds Minghao on his couch, though.

“Why are you here?” he asks, toeing off his shoes next to the door and letting his backpack fall to the ground. He throws his wallet and keys down onto his kitchen table, and then plops down on the far end of the couch, not hiding his annoyance. Minghao glares at him.

“Hello to you too, best friend.”

Mingyu just levels him with a look, and Minghao must get the message because he sighs and throws his head back against the cushions.

“I have a problem.”

“You’re having another gay crisis?” Mingyu, realizing how cold his apartment is, tugs half of his blanket off of Minghao and throws it over his legs. He burrows down into the cushions and Minghao gives him a pathetic look, before continuing.

“Stop calling it that.”

“But that’s what it is.”

“I’m not gay.”

Mingyu rolls his eyes. He motions for Minghao to get on with it; he really just wants to watch _Game of Thrones._

“Last night I made out with this girl at the club.”

Mingyu had spent 30 minutes in the dingy club Minghao and Seokmin had drug him to, before leaving to go eat _Taco Bell_ with Chan. He was still pretty drunk, because they had pregamed pretty hard, but there was no way he was staying in the building. He had no idea of Minghao’s... _activities._

“Okay?”

Minghao groans, like it’s as if Mingyu should understand the situation without him having to explain it. That’s not the case, though. Mingyu doesn’t get what the problem is here.

“I _liked_ it,” he continues, and Mingyu nods, because Minghao has always _liked_ it, “-but…”

“Not as much as you did with Jun?”

Minghao nods. Mingyu snorts into the cushion in an attempt to hide his amusement at his best friend’s distress, but it doesn’t work. Minghao hurls a pillow at his head and kicks his shin.

“It’s not funny!”

“Why can’t you just admit that you like the kid?”

“I don’t, though!” Minghao exclaims, throwing his arms up into the air. “I hardly know him!”

Mingyu laughs again because it’s like a _him and Wonwoo part 2._ Minghao throws another pillow at his face.

“Clearly you like some of him, or else you wouldn’t have _ravished_ him in our alleyway.”

Minghao scrunches up his nose in disgust. “Please don’t refer to it like that.” he pleads. Mingyu all but cackles.  

“So, what? Did you see the light? Gay is now okay?” Mingyu asks. He phrases it as a joke, but he _is_ actually genuinely curious. Minghao is finally talking about his _feelings_ with him, Mingyu wants to cherish it.

“I’m not gay.” Minghao repeats and if Mingyu has to hear that phrase one more time he might go crazy. “But I might be...be…”

“Bi? Yeah, I could have told you that in 8th grade.”

Minghao stares at Mingyu for a solid 30 seconds, his jaw slack and his eyes wide. Mingyu just stares back, and in the end shrugs.

_“What?”_

“Remember that kid in our english class? I think his name was Tyler? You openly checked him out every chance you got.” Mingyu explains. “And sophomore year, you had a crush on our gym teacher, don’t even deny it. He was hot.”

Minghao doesn’t move, or make any attempts to reply, so Mingyu continues.

“I catch you looking at guy’s butts all the time and-”

“Okay!” Minghao cuts him off, his face now bright red. Mingyu smirks at him. “Okay, I get it.”

“Cool, so now admit that you like Jun.”

“I like his face.”

“That was lame.” Mingyu rolls his eyes and tugs the rest of the blanket off of Minghao, before wrapping his entire body up in it and laying down on the couch. Minghao tries to pull it back, but is unsuccessful, and instead just curls up next to Mingyu’s side. Mingyu sighs and opens the blanket, and Minghao shuffles forward, so that they’re both lying underneath it.

“Am I weird?” Minghao mumbles, digging his face into Mingyu’s chest. They’ve done this enough times before that Mingyu isn’t even phased anymore. He sighs and pulls the younger boy closer, reaching forward and grabbing the remote off of the coffee table.

“You’re asking the gay kid if you’re weird?” Minghao just nods. “No, Minghao. You’re not weird, I promise.”

“I feel weird.” Minghao admits. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Just let it play out. If something happens, it happens.” Mingyu suggests. He’s not sure how else to console his friend. “Hey, Wonwoo told me that Jun talks about you a lot, so that’s a start.”

“Wonwoo?” Minghao’s mischievous smirk is back and suddenly Mingyu no longer wants to talk. He rolls his eyes and turns towards the TV, flipping it on and going to _On Demand._

He finds where he left off in _Game of Thrones_ and clicks play, ignoring the looks his best friend throws at him.

 

~

 

Mingyu is horrified. He’s sitting in a little booth attached to the outside wall of the club, watching the dance floor. _Closer_ by The Chainsmokers is playing, and every girl in attendance is yelling the lyrics at the top of their lungs. It’s like a cult chant, or something. But what makes it worse is that _Seungkwan_ is in the middle of it all, singing right along, looking as happy as ever.

“Ah, isn’t he great?” Vernon says, a big ass smile spread across his face while he reclines next to Mingyu. Mingyu scowls and shakes his head.

“No?”

Vernon ignores him and goes back to staring at Seungkwan. Mingyu thinks he sees literal hearts in the younger’s eyes.

They’re painfully sober. There are two bouncers at each of the bars, policing who buys alcohol. They watch who gives what to who. Even if Mingyu could find someone to buy him something, he wouldn’t be able to drink it. His plastic cup full of lukewarm water tastes like piss, and he kind of wants to die.

“This is actually so boring.” Minghao shouts over the music to the rest of them. He has his elbows propped up on the table, and his chin is resting in his hands. He looks bored. They all look bored. Chan hasn’t looked up from his phone in 20 minutes.

“Do you think we can leave?” Mingyu asks, glancing around the building. There are actually a ton of people, just a lot of them are older and can actually, you know, _have fun._ Seungcheol and Jeonghan are at the bar, talking to Joshua, who Mingyu has come to find out is the president of Theta. Seokmin is walking back to their booth from the bathroom. Jun is talking to some pledge from Kappa that Mingyu’s forgotten the name of (Minghao has glared holes into his head the entire time, he notes). The only one that Mingyu can think of that’s missing is Soonyoung, but he hasn’t shown up at all, so.

Oh, and Wonwoo. Mingyu definitely noticed that.

“I just texted Seungcheol. He said he didn’t care.” Vernon announces. Chan, who’s been mute this entire time, cheers.

“Didn’t care about what?” Seokmin asks, sliding back into the booth next to Mingyu.

“Didn’t care if we left.”

“Where would we go?”

 _Ah, you got us there,_ Mingyu thinks. He sighs and pulls out his phone.

Wonwoo hasn’t texted him at all, and Mingyu would be lying if he said he wasn’t wondering what the older was doing. He had actually looked forward to seeing him tonight, if he’s being honest. He even wore a nice shirt.

 

**not at the mixer? <**

**> lmao no**

 

Wonwoo answers almost immediately and Mingyu can’t help the grin that overtakes his face.

 

**it’s kinda lame <**

**> that’s why i didn’t go**

**Where are you then? < **

 

Mingyu hopes that he doesn’t come off too forward. Wonwoo’s typing dots pop up on the screen for a awhile, and Mingyu uses that time to glance around the table. Vernon is talking to Seokmin about where they could go for the night, Chan is telling Minghao that he just wants to go home, another Top 40s song is playing over the speakers.

 

**> jihoon’s house**

 

Oh yes, Mingyu had forgotten about that guy. He never sees him at these kinds of places anyways, though.

 

**> he said you could come over if you wanted to. we’re just hanging out. **

 

Mingyu was not expecting that. He almost types out an enthusiastic ‘yes’, but then he remembers that he has _friends_ that he can’t exactly abandon.

 

**I would but I can’t leave the guys <**

**> you can bring them**

 

Mingyu bites his lip in an attempt to hold back his smile. He nods, though Wonwoo can’t see him, and types out his reply.

 

**Are you sure? There are 6 including me <**

**> that’s fine**

 

Mingyu whoops and sets his phone down on the table, before gathering all of his friend’s attention. They all look up at him expectantly, conversations paused.

“I have a place we can go to.” he tells them excitedly.

“Where?” Minghao asks. He looks skeptical, because as far as he knows, all of Mingyu’s friends are currently sitting in front of them.

“Wonwoo’s at his friend Jihoon’s house, and he said we could all come over.”

Minghao looks like he’s about to say something embarrassing about Mingyu, but then Mingyu glares at him and tells him to _not even dare_ telepathically, and he backs off.

“Who?” Seokmin asks, not following along. Mingyu sighs.

“They’re in Theta.” he explains. “Uh, Wonwoo helps me with psych sometimes.”

Seokmin and Vernon give him hesitant looks, but they don’t argue. Chan just groans.

“And this kid doesn’t care that all of us are crashing whatever he’s doing?” Vernon asks. Mingyu shakes his head ‘no’ in response.

“I mean, that’s fine with me.” Vernon tells him. Seokmin nods in agreement, and Minghao and Chan, who are now outnumbered, just go along with it. “Where’s it at?”

“I have to get the address from him.” Mingyu says. He stands up from the booth and grabs his phone, about ready to text Wonwoo back. “Go get Seungkwan and then meet me out at the car.”

They disperse after that. Vernon and Seokmin leave to go corral Seungkwan, while Minghao and Chan follow Mingyu out to his car. It’s parked in the side lot next to the end of the building, and the entire trip there Mingyu texts Wonwoo.

 

**Ah thanks you saved us <**

**Where is it at???? < **

**> i pinned you the address**

**> it’s a little house on the corner of the road. Just come in the door when you guys get here. **

**Okay. we’ll be there soon! <**

 

Mingyu pockets his phone and unlocks his car, climbing into the driver’s seat. Minghao gets into the passenger's seat and Chan slides into the back, shuffling all the way over so that no one else has to. They only have to wait a couple of minutes for the other three, who come barrelling out of the club with a singing Seungkwan. To an outsider, he probably looks plastered.

It’s a tight fit, but it’s not horrible, especially because Seungkwan just plops himself down on Vernon’s lap. Vernon looks flustered for all of two seconds, and then Seungkwan starts singing again, which causes the younger of the two to hit him. Seungkwan shrieks and furrows his eyebrows.

“Where are we going?”

“Jihoon’s house.” Mingyu tells him, starting the car up. He pulls out of his parking spot and makes his way to the main road.

“The VP of Theta?” Mingyu nods. “Why?”

“Because that was boring and Wonwoo told me we could come over.”

“You’re friends with Wonwoo?”

Mingyu bites his lip and nods again. Seungkwan doesn’t read into though, he just nods and leans his head back against the window.

The house isn’t that far away. It’s on a street right outside of campus, where all of the other frat boy houses are, except Jihoon’s looks nicer on the outside when they pull up to it. He actually has grass, and as far as Mingyu can tell, there isn’t a broken window.

“He said we could just go in.” Mingyu tells the group as they all pile out of the car, after he’s turned it off. The first one up the lawn is Seungkwan, pulling a hesitant Vernon behind him. Everyone else follows, letting Mingyu lead them.

Mingyu slowly pushes the door open upon arriving to it, Seungkwan having backed off because he doesn't want to be the first one to walk into the house. Mingyu can relate, because he’s not sure what to expect when they walk in. Luckily, though, no one is in the front room, and only faint music can be heard down the hall.

The only problem is that Mingyu has no idea where to go. He’s about to pull out his phone to call Wonwoo and ask, but then a door at the end of the front hallway opens and said other man walks out.

“Hey, thought I heard you.” Wonwoo greets, a small smile trained on his face. Mingyu grins back.

“Hey.”

Wonwoo turns to the rest of the group, and throws up a wave. “I’m Wonwoo.”

Everyone takes their turn introducing themselves, save for Seungkwan, who just says “you know me”. Wonwoo chuckles and nods, and then points towards the kitchen.

“I was going to get a drink, if you guys want something.”

“Is it alcohol?” Vernon asks from behind Mingyu, his tone laced with excitement. Wonwoo smirks and nods, and so the group follows him into the kitchen. After throwing the fridge open, Wonwoo hands everyone a beer, save for Chan who just takes a bottle of water. He then leads them down the hallway where he came from, before shuffling them all into the last room on the left.

The lights are dimmed and there are large speakers mounted onto the wall. A flat screen TV sits propped up against the wall underneath a window, not sitting on a stand, but rather on the floor. There’s a light fixture sitting on top of the speakers, emitting blues and reds and greens all around the room. Mingyu focuses on none of this, though. Instead, he zones in on _Soonyoung,_ who’s peering over a shorter man’s shoulders (Jihoon’s, he assumes) and poking at a keyboard.

“Hey-” Soonyoung begins, turning around and facing the group. “Oh. You brought the entire pledge class.”

He directs the question at Wonwoo, who simply shrugs and then sits down in a corner. Soonyoung looks flustered, and immediately backs away from Jihoon, running a hand through his hair.

“Hi, Soonyoung.” Chan offers, because out of all of them, he’s gotten the closest to the older. Soonyoung just sighs and smiles, and then crawls over to the wall, sitting back against it. Chan goes and sits next to him, and Vernon and Seungkwan follow, sitting close but not on top of them. Mingyu makes his way over to Wonwoo and plops down next to him, Minghao and Seokmin following.

“Welcome to the trip room.” Wonwoo tells Mingyu once he’s settled. His shoulder is pressed against the older’s, and he tells himself it’s only because the room is small. Seokmin and Minghao are sitting comfortably, though.

“Trip room?” Mingyu asks. Wonwoo nods and then points to a tray sitting in the middle of the room, which is holding a grinder and a bong. Mingyu nods. He suddenly notices that the entire room smells like straight up _dank,_ and laughs.

“My roommate is in here more than me.” Jihoon pipes up from where he’s still sitting next to the keyboard. “I just use it to practice, or whenever these two come over.” He points to Soonyoung and Wonwoo. Wonwoo just shrugs, Soonyoung visibly blushes.

Mingyu had no idea Soonyoung even smoked.

“Practice what?” Seungkwan asks from where he’s literally curled into Vernon’s side. Jihoon looks up at him and flashes him a smile, obviously recognizing the younger.

“He’s a dj!” Soonyoung exclaims, a proud smile fixing to his face. Mingyu is hit with the memory of Jeonghan looking at Soonyoung when talking about not caring about dating Theta Phi’s, and his mind starts racing. He doesn’t ask, though, because he figures that he’ll probably find out by the end of the night.

“Kind of.” Jihoon shrugs. “I, like, pair the music with the lights in here and create a kind of show. It’s just a hobby.”

“It’s really cool.” Wonwoo offers. Mingyu glances at him, Wonwoo has a big grin on his face.

“Can we see?” Chan asks, peering over Soonyoung to look at Jihoon. Jihoon nods.

“Yeah, later though. It wouldn’t be as cool if I did it now.”

Mingyu now realizes why they call this room the ‘trip room’. Chan, apparently, does not.

“Why?”

Jihoon just chuckles and shakes his head.

“You said these kids wouldn’t care.” he says to Wonwoo, though he doesn’t sound mad. Wonwoo simply shrugs.

“Mingyu doesn’t. I just assumed.”

Mingyu is lost for all of two seconds, until Jihoon walks forward on his knees and presents a jar out of a backpack he had dragged along with him. He doesn’t care, that’s for sure, but he wasn’t aware that _this_ was what they were going to do, so he had no time to prepare the others. He’s kind of regretting not asking beforehand, though, because Vernon looks like an excited kindergartener, and Chan looks scandalized.

“Sorry. Forgot to mention it.” Wonwoo tells Mingyu, looking a little apologetic. Mingyu waves him off.

“It’s fine.” he says. He turns and looks at Chan straight on. “You don’t have to.”

“Yeah, you don’t.” Jihoon says, where he’s pouring the contents of the jar out on the tray. “We’re making a timebomb. Soonyoung thought skipping out on the social was a special occasion.”

“You didn’t miss anything.” Vernon says, looking towards Soonyoung. “It was really boring.”

Soonyoung shrugs. “Can’t drink, what’s the point?”

Most of them agree, save for Chan and Seokmin, and then they fall into separate, quiet conversations. Soonyoung reassures Chan that they’re not going to go to jail. Vernon tells Seungkwan what the hell is happening, because he asks why Jihoon has _spices._ Minghao pulls out his phone and starts texting someone, while Seokmin stares at the wall, looking a little nervous.

“So, what’s a timebomb?” Mingyu asks, turning fully towards Wonwoo and raising an eyebrow. He’d like to consider himself _seasoned,_ but he has no idea what Jihoon is building on the tray.

“A joint attached to the bowl on a bong. Doubles the hit, basically.” Wonwoo explains. Mingyu nods, although he’s a little horrified. And intrigued.

“Oh.”

“Is your friend going to be okay?” Wonwoo points and Mingyu follows his finger, finding Chan. He looks like he’s about to cry and suddenly Mingyu feels really, really bad.

“I think so?” Soonyoung looks like he has it under control, though. “He goes out with us but he never, you know…”

“It’s ready.” Jihoon exclaims, cutting Mingyu off. Mingyu turns and finds him shuffling back to the wall, sitting next to Soonyoung with the bong propped up on his knee. He’s got a beanie on, with a pair of glasses, and all Mingyu can think is _stoner._

Jihoon whips out a lighter and seals the joint one last time, before sparking it. He then lights the bowl and places his mouth around the top of the bong, sucking in. Mingyu watches him and finds he’s relieved when there isn’t anything else to it than that. Jihoon passes the bong to his right when he’s done, which means that Seokmin ends up with it. He holds it in his hands like it’s a bomb that’s about to explode.

“Uh.”

“You don’t have to either.” Jihoon coughs a little. “None of you do. Wonwoo didn’t tell me that people were coming that weren’t cool with it.”

“No, it’s uh, I mean. It’s fine.” Seokmin takes the lighter that Jihoon holds out for him. “How do I, uh…”

Jihoon shows him how to spark the bowl, and then Seokmin tries it himself, taking a hit. He goes for way too long and Mingyu is pretty sure he’s going to die, but he just pulls away and coughs a little before passing it along.

They go around the circle like that. Mingyu has to help Minghao, Vernon sparks it for Seungkwan, Chan watches, still horrified, though he looks a little more interested. It’s gone pretty fast, they only make it around the circle twice, but Jihoon is already packing a second bowl so it’s fine.

“I don’t really feel anything.” Seungkwan tells the group, from where he’s still pressed up against Vernon. He looks annoyed by it.

“You usually don’t your first time.” Soonyoung explains. He’s got his head pressed up against the wall, his eyes staring at the ceiling.

“That’s dumb.” Seungkwan mumbles. Mingyu giggles at him.

They go for round two once Jihoon crawls back into the circle. Minghao and Seungkwan figure it out and do it themselves, this time, which makes it go faster. Passing it, that is. Until Vernon is about to pass it to Soonyoung, and Chan stops him, taking the bong and lighter out of his hands.

Mingyu can definitely feel the double hits, but he’s still aware enough to realize that Chan probably doesn’t _really_ want to do this.

“Chan, don’t feel like you _have_ to-”

“I want to.” Chan cuts him off. He turns to Soonyoung. “Just, show me how one more time.”

Soonyoung doesn’t move, just gives Chan a calculating look. Chan rolls his eyes.

“Really. I gotta do it sometime.”

“No you don’t. You don’t ever have to if you don’t want to.” Soonyoung tells him. Chan rolls his eyes again, and thrusts the lighter at the older.

“Show me.”

Soonyoung sighs and takes the lighter, leaning forward to show Chan how to spark the bowl and suck in. Mingyu, not all that interested, turns to his right and looks at Wonwoo. The older seems to be asleep, his head propped back up against the wall, his eyes squeezed shut, but when Mingyu taps him on the leg with his pinky, he taps back. He doesn’t open his eyes though, and Mingyu finds it amusing, so they tap each other back and forth until the bong gets to them.

Halfway through Mingyu’s turn, Jihoon turns on some music. It’s weird, definitely fucks with Mingyu’s head, but he kind of likes it. The only one who complains is Soonyoung.

“Ji, you play this _all_ the time.” he drawls out, lolling his head sideways so that he can look at Jihoon. The other shrugs and then crawls back to his spot.

Jihoon must have put on a playlist, because another odd song comes on after the previous one is done. The bong is back to Chan at this point, and he lights it up himself, taking a hit that causes him to choke afterwards. His water is completely gone (Seungkwan had sucked most of it down after his first hit), so he has to take a swig of Vernon’s warm beer to wash it down.

Mingyu wonders why he and his friend’s hate themselves, because they’re smoking _and_ drinking at the same time. He’s only had one beer, which is practically nothing, but he’s high as hell so everything is magnified.

“I’m going to go get another drink.” Wonwoo mumbles, startling Mingyu slightly. He slowly gets up and Mingyu isn’t even thirsty, nor does he want anything, but he still stands up as well. He follows Wonwoo out of the room and back into the kitchen.

Wonwoo grabs another beer out of the fridge, and then hands it to Mingyu. Mingyu takes it, _fuck it,_ he thinks, and then watches as Wonwoo grabs one for himself. He’s about to start making his way back to the room, but then he realizes that Wonwoo isn’t moving and is instead leaning against the counter, so he stays put.

They don’t say anything to each other. Mingyu opens his bottle, Wonwoo struggles with his, so he passes it to Mingyu for help. Mingyu opens it and passes it back and then they both take a swig. It’s cold and that’s the only part Mingyu likes of it.

A few minutes pass, he assumes, and they just stand there in silence, enjoying each other's presence. They’re only interrupted because the front door opens, and Jun and Joshua walk in, talking amongst themselves.

“Hey.” Wonwoo calls out, catching their attention. They both turn and then make their way into the kitchen, but they don’t shut the front door, so Mingyu is confused. And then _Seungcheol and Jeonghan_ walk in, and yeah, Mingyu doesn’t know what’s happening.

“Uh.” he mumbles, suddenly nervous that he’s going to get in trouble or something. Seungcheol is literally an advocate for underage drinking, but still. Mingyu doesn’t know how he feels about smoking.

“Hey, Mingyu.” Jeonghan greets. He’s got a case of Redds in his hand, while Seungcheol is holding a brown bag. He pulls a bottle of vodka and a bottle of tequila out of it, and sets them down on the countertop.

“Hi.” Mingyu drawls out, slowly. His mind is fuzzy as hell and for some reason, he can’t wrap his head around the fact that Seungcheol and Jeonghan are hanging out with _Theta’s._

“What are you doing here?” Seungcheol asks, reaching into the fridge and grabbing a beer. Jeonghan sets the Redds down on the counter next to the liquor and peels open the box, grabbing one and popping the top off. Jun grabs one as well, and Joshua just grabs a beer out of the fridge, and there’s so much going on that Mingyu can’t focus.

“Um.” he mutters, his mouth suddenly feeling like it has cotton in it. “Wonwoo invited me.” He takes another swig of his beer, which tastes progressively worse now.

“Oh.” Seungcheol nods. “Is Vernon here too? He texted me a while ago and asked if he could leave the club.”

Mingyu nods. “And Minghao, and Seokmin, and Chan, and Seungkwan.” He lists them all off on his fingers. Seungcheol just nods and then turns to Jeonghan, saying something to him that Mingyu can’t here.

It’s kind of awkward. Jun starts talking to Wonwoo, telling him something that had happened while at the mixer. Joshua joins Seungcheol and Jeonghan’s conversation. Mingyu suspects that the reason he butts in is because he just genuinely doesn’t understand.

“Wait.” he says, which causes everyone to turn towards him. He squints his eyes. “I thought...I mean, Jeonghan, you said that it was just over football, but I thought that...that...you guys weren’t friends. You’re rivals.”

Jun snorts, and doesn’t even wait for the explanation, just grabs his beer and starts walking towards the hallway.

“Joshua has been my best friend since elementary school.” Seungcheol says, pointing to the other in question. Joshua nods.

“Oh.”

“And Soonyoung is dating Jihoon, so, like-”

 _“What?”_ Mingyu chokes out, and he had suspected it, but _what?_

“Oh, you didn’t know? Isn’t he here?”

Mingyu shakes his head no, his eyes wide. Jeonghan laughs at him and pats him on the back as he walks past him.

“I told you, we just tell pledges about the rivalry to fire them up for intramurals.”

“So you’re all _friends?!”_ Mingyu exclaims, but Jeonghan and Seungcheol just laugh at him as they walk towards the back room. He turns to Wonwoo and looks at him expectantly, though the older just shrugs.

“You never told me this!”

“You never asked.”

Mingyu groans and turns to Joshua, who’s still leaning against the countertop, watching the exchange with an amused smirk.

“I thought...I thought Theta Phi was the _good_ fraternity. Wonwoo said you guys didn’t do stuff like this! Seungcheol does bad stuff, why are you friends with him?!”

“Wonwoo lied.” Joshua snorts, and pushes off of the counter, continuing down towards the room where everyone else is at. Mingyu whips back around and glares at Wonwoo.

“I said we didn’t do hazing and that kind of stuff.” Wonwoo tells him. “Joshua was the first person I ever bought weed from here.”

Mingyu chokes, and he’s not sure if he’s going to make it, but luckily Wonwoo whacks him on the back. He catches his breath again and takes another drink.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were friends with my president?” Mingyu asks, still bewildered at what’s just happened. Wonwoo shrugs again.

“We’re friends by association. I don’t hang out with them that much, just Soonyoung. I didn’t think it mattered.”

“It...it matters.” Mingyu splutters.

“Sorry.” Wonwoo mumbles. Mingyu just sighs. “Do you want to head back in?”

“Yeah.” Mingyu says. Wonwoo pushes off of the counter and makes his way towards the back, while Mingyu follows. He’s still a little stunned, and that might have something to do with the fact that he’s higher than he’s probably ever been before, but it’s still valid.

When they make it back to the room, Mingyu finds that it’s a lot more crowded than before, and that everyone is sitting around kind of awkwardly, despite everyone basically knowing each other. He walks back to his spot with Wonwoo and plops down, turning to Minghao, who’s staring at him.

“Dude.” Minghao whispers, his eyes wide. “Seungcheol is here. I’m so high, we’re going to get kicked out of Kappa.”

Mingyu looks up and finds Seungcheol sitting directly across from him. He’s handing a newly rolled blunt to Joshua, after having taken a hit. Mingyu looks back down at his best friend and shakes his head ‘no’.

“No.” he says, pointing to their president. Minghao peers over at him and gasps a little.

“We’re saved.”

Mingyu giggles. _They’re saved._

A couple of blunts are being passed around now. Seungkwan complains that he _still_ can’t feel anything, and then proceeds to take a large hit, before blowing the smoke into Vernon’s face. Chan, who says he _can_ definitely feel it, takes a hit and then laughs like it’s the funniest thing in the world when the smoke travels up to the ceiling. It’s not funny but pretty much everyone in the room laughs with him.

“Hey.” Soonyoung says in the middle of the laughter, lifting his hand and waving it at Jihoon. Jihoon is propped up against the wall, but he has one leg thrown over Soonyoung’s and yeah, _dating._

“Do the thing.”

“The thing?” Jihoon sits up. “Oh, the thing.” He sighs and crawls over to his keyboard. Soonyoung scoots over to give everyone more space, but it doesn’t do much because Chan doesn’t move after him. No one really cares though. Mingyu, especially, is too excited for ‘the thing’ to notice.

Mingyu is handed a smoking blunt right as Jihoon turns all of the lights off. It startles him and he coughs on the hit, before he passes it on to Wonwoo without taking a second. Then, suddenly, music starts playing, and a light flashes across the room. The light is red and stays on for the entirety of the low, drawn out beat. When the beat switches to something more upbeat, the light flashes, and interchanges with a black light.

Everytime the beat changes, the lights do. Jihoon plays different songs and beats and keys on his keyboard, and then directs the lights so that it matches perfectly. Mingyu can’t do anything but stare up at the ceiling and watch in awe.

Halfway through the second song Mingyu gets the blunt again, and he’s positively high, so high that he’s probably going to start hallucinating, but he hits it anyways. He passes it on and continues to stare up at the ceiling as another song comes on and the beat changes.

“Is that an alien on the ceiling?” Vernon asks from across the room, his voice filled with concern. Someone snorts at him; Mingyu has no idea who it is, nor does he care. He’s too preoccupied with the image on the ceiling. He doesn’t know where Vernon got an alien from, because he sees an America flag.

“No. That’s a tree.” Seokmin exclaims.

Mingyu decides that yeah, they’re hallucinating.

He doesn’t know how long the light show goes on. It feels like an eternity, maybe longer. Jihoon just keeps going and Mingyu has had sex with Wonwoo, but _this_ is the best feeling he’s ever experienced. He feels like he’s floating in outer space, and the different colors of the lights are totally fucking with his mind. The music isn’t helping either. Mingyu is actually not sure if he’s living anymore, he may be dead, this might be heaven.

Eventually Jihoon does stop, though, claiming that he’s tired and can’t go on. No one really argues with him. Most everyone, including Mingyu, just continues to stare up at the ceiling. The blunts are all long gone but no one moves to roll another, which Mingyu thinks is good, because he _can not._

“I need to go home.” Seungkwan says after awhile. He finally looks away from the ceiling and turns to Vernon, his eyes wide. Mingyu lets his gaze fall on them, because the ceiling is no longer entertaining.

“I believe I have died. I need to go home.”

“Feeling it?” Vernon asks him, and chuckles when Seungkwan nods. He shifts, which moves the older, and then stretches his arms above his head.

“How are we going to get home?” Seokmin pipes up, peering around the room. No one says anything, but finally Jihoon sighs and stands up from the ground.

“Well, you’re all not staying here.” he says. He grabs the tray off of the ground and then makes his way out of the room, leaving the door open so that the room can air out. Mingyu has apparently lost his ability to smell, but he wonders how bad the house stinks.

“We’re right by Greek Row.” Jeonghan tells everyone, yawning into his arm as he stands up. Seungcheol follows him, and then Joshua does, causing everyone else to decide to do the same. Mostly everyone stretches, and yawns, or does both, and then they all file out of the room one by one. Mingyu is one of the last ones out of the room, with only Wonwoo being behind him.

Mingyu glances at the clock on the wall on his way to the front of the house, reading that it’s 1:54 am. They’ve been at Jihoon’s for a little over two hours. He wonders how long the light show actually lasted, because last he knew, it was only 12:45. He doesn’t ask, though, and instead just follows everyone into the combined living room and kitchen.

“I was prepared to drink all of that tonight,” Seungcheol points to the unopened bottles of liquor on the counter, “-but I’m about to pass out. Jihoon, you did it again, man. I think you broke my brain.”

Jihoon smiles a smug smile and shrugs, not looking sorry at all. He leans against the counter and watches as everyone collects their things. Soonyoung walks over and stands next to him, leaning against his side and folding his arms.

“I’ll just get that later.” Jeonghan yawns, gesturing towards the alcohol they had brought in. Jihoon nods.

“I’m starving.” Chan says as everyone is putting their shoes on, which were all collectively stashed near the front door. “I want Taco Bell.”

“Taco Bell sounds amazing.” Minghao says. He struggles to tie his left shoe and eventually just gives up, leaving it untied and flopped over his foot.

Chan links his arm with Minghao and they’re the first two out the front door, throwing it open and not waiting for anyone else before they make their way outside. Mingyu laughs a little and slips his own shoes on. He still feels like he’s floating.

“Thanks.” he throws over his shoulder towards Jihoon’s general direction before he heads towards the door himself. He’s aware that Wonwoo is following close behind, practically pressed up against his back. It suddenly gets extremely warm, so Mingyu doesn’t wait for a reply from Jihoon, he just makes his way out the front door and into the cool night air.

They don’t really wait for the others to follow. Mingyu is in _no_ condition to drive, so he says a silent goodbye to his car, and tells himself that he’ll come back and get it in the morning. He then trails behind Minghao and Chan on the sidewalk, who are now accompanied by Seokmin, and follows them as they make their way to the main row. They’re all linked by the arms, and are singing some song that Mingyu doesn’t know.

When they get to the main road, Mingyu realizes how close to campus they actually are, because he can see the Taco Bell across the main road. It’s really close and the three in front of him must realize it too, because they start running towards it. They totally jaywalk, but Mingyu is positive that they don’t care.

“Are you going to Taco Bell?”

Mingyu turns and he had honestly forgotten Wonwoo was there, so he’s a little taken aback by how close the older is to him when he turns to face him.

“Uh.” Mingyu _had_ been hungry, but now all he wants is a _bed._ “No.”

“Me either.” Wonwoo tells him. Mingyu nods and then looks back forward. He has a long walk back to his apartment, he’s pretty sure.

Suddenly, though, a hand grabs his, and tangles their fingers together. Mingyu looks down and finds the owner to be Wonwoo. His cheeks heat up as he looks back up at the older.

“I didn’t want you to get lost.”

“Oh.” If he wasn’t still stoned, he would have laughed and made fun of Wonwoo.

“You can stay at mine tonight. I don’t want you to walk back to your apartment alone.”

“Oh.” Mingyu says again. His face is still flaming and one look at the other shows that Wonwoo’s is too. Mingyu doesn’t say anything about it.

They walk back to the Theta Phi house in silence, but it’s comfortable. Mingyu becomes aware of Joshua and Jun behind them about halfway there. He doesn’t know where Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Vernon and Seungkwan went, but he doesn’t really care, just as long as they got back safe.

Once at the house, Wonwoo leads Mingyu up the pathway by the hand. He unlocks the front door with his code and Mingyu tries to hold the door open for Jun and Joshua, who are still behind them, but Wonwoo just drags him forward and up the stairs. They walk to Wonwoo’s room and Mingyu isn’t exactly sure, but he thinks he’s been in the Theta house more than he’s been in the Kappa house.

When they get to the room Wonwoo throws the door open and stalks inside, dropping Mingyu’s hand only when they’ve gotten to his side. He turns to the younger, one eyebrow raised.

“Clothes?”

“Just some shorts.” Mingyu replies. Fuck it, he’s sleeping shirtless. Wonwoo tosses him a pair of basketball shorts and Mingyu wastes no time in getting changed, balling his jeans and shirt up and plopping them down onto the ground next to Wonwoo’s bed. By the time he’s done, Wonwoo is done changing too. He has low-riding sweatpants on, and nothing else, and Mingyu bites his lip.

The light is still off, so Wonwoo just pulls his comforter back and climbs onto his bed. Mingyu follows and situates himself on _his_ side (he can’t help but call it that in his mind). He’s pulling the comforter over his torso when Jun walks in.

It says a lot about how tired the other is, because he just quietly shuts the door and then faceplants into his mattress. Mingyu is pretty sure he’s out before his face hits his pillow.

“Goodnight.” Wonwoo mumbles as he rustles around in the bed. He flips over so that he’s facing away from Mingyu and then stills, his face smushed into his pillow. Mingyu smiles down at him and then flips onto his back, staring up at the ceiling.

He’s tired, but he’s not. Normally he would be freaking out, with the whole sleeping-in-the-same-bed-as-the-hottest-kid-on-campus thing, but he’s still blazed and his mind can’t really think about too many things at once. So instead he just focuses on his breathing and contemplates his entire life, all while watching the light flicker on the smoke detector.

He’s not sure how long he lays there. He doesn’t move, not once, and the only reason that he comes back to reality is because he phone buzzes. It’s next to his head on the bed, so he reaches up and grabs it, and clicks on his home button. It’s been an hour since they left Jihoon’s house. It feels like four. He opens up the new message he’s received, and then looks at the contact name, finding that it’s from Vernon.

 

**> we had sex**

**> high sex is so good**

**> i feel like i’m floating **

**> he’s so cUTE **

 

Mingyu snorts and locks his phone again. He know’s Vernon is talking about Seungkwan. He really shouldn’t encourage sexual activity under the influence (who is he kidding, that’s how he met Wonwoo), but all he can think is _good for them._ It’s been a long time coming.

“Go to sleep.” Wonwoo grumbles from besides Mingyu. Mingyu honestly thought he was asleep, and is surprised when he speaks. He jumps a little.

“Sorry.” Mingyu sets his phone back down and rolls over onto his side so that he’s facing Wonwoo. Wonwoo rolls over himself, and Mingyu laughs upon seeing him, because he still has his glasses on.

“What?”

Mingyu grins and reaches forward, taking Wonwoo’s glasses off and carefully folding them. He then sits up on his elbow and leans over Wonwoo, setting the glasses down on the older’s bedside table. He lays back down at stares at Wonwoo, smile still on his face.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Mingyu sighs. “I thought you were asleep.”

“I can’t.” Mingyu’s about to ask why, but then- “Not when you’re in bed with me and not cuddling me.”

Mingyu thinks that that’s the most disgustingly domestic thing ever, but complies anyways, shuffling forward and wrapping the older in his arms. Wonwoo immediately relaxes and lays his head on Mingyu's chest.

“Do you still not want to be my boyfriend?”

“Yeah.” Wonwoo says immediately. Mingyu chuckles and throws a leg over Wonwoo’s, digging down into his pillow.

“Goodnight, Wonwoo.”

But Wonwoo is already practically asleep, hot breath tickling Mingyu’s neck. Mingyu grins and closes his own eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

Mingyu’s eyes fly open. He stares up at his ceiling as his entire body freezes. He  _ prays to God _ that he’s dreaming. 

_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _

He’s not dreaming. He swallows the lump in his throat and slowly shifts his head to the right, glancing at the clock resting atop his bedside table. It reads ‘3:47 am’. He went to bed  _ maybe _ two hours ago.

_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _

He sighs and sits up from the mattress. He glances to his left, where Wonwoo is laying, sprawled out across the bed. His hair is matted to the side of his face and his shirt is twisted around his body. They hadn’t done anything besides make out a little, but Mingyu didn’t want the older to walk home by himself, so Wonwoo stayed. They had been at a joint party that Kappa and Theta threw, as a kind of kickoff to  _ Hell Week _ (or, the week before Homecoming week).

_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _

Wonwoo turns over on the bed and then digs down into the covers, subconciously tugging them up to cover the part of his body that had been kept warm by Mingyu. Mingyu sighs and throws the comforter off of his legs, before he swings them around and plants them down onto the ground. He stands up, slowly, and then grabs a sweatshirt he finds thrown on the ground. He tugs it over his head and then stalks towards his bedroom door, throwing it open and then stomping to his front door.

He looks out the peephole first. A man with a sweatshirt on, with the hood up, is standing on his floormat. Mingyu can’t see his face. He’s about to turn around and go back to his room, and call the police or something, but then his doorknob wiggles.

He’s not quick enough, and he mentally curses himself out, because  _ why the fuck didn’t he lock the door in the first place? _ The door is thrown open and the figure steps into his apartment. He catches Mingyu off guard, too, because suddenly a fucking  _ bag _ is thrown over his head, and something is tied around his wrists, and then he’s being picked up and thrown over a shoulder. He tries to yell, but his voice is muffled by the bag and the fact that his face is planted in the man’s back, so nothing really comes out. He tries to struggle, too, but  _ Goddamn _ this man is strong. The last thing Mingyu registers is his door being quietly shut, and then he’s being carried somewhere.

“Hey!” he manages, wiggling around in the other man’s grip. “Put me the fuck down!”

It’s no use. The man just tightens his grip and continues walking. Mingyu can tell they’re going down the stairs now, and he assumes that he’s being taken to the parking lot, because where else would this guy take him?

He’s proven right when he’s thrown into what he thinks is a car. He knows it’s not a trunk, because he can feel the leather of the seats on his shorts-clad legs, but it does nothing to stifle how terrified he is. He kicks the seat in front of him when the car starts up, and curses.

“What’s going on?! Where the hell are you taking me?!”

There’s no reply. Mingyu doesn’t know why he thought there would be one. He kicks the seat in front of him again, but all it earns him is the seat moving backwards, crushing his legs. He yelps in pain and draws his legs closer to him, choosing instead to push at the seat with his shoulder.

Still no reply. The driver, his fucking  _ kidnapper, _ doesn’t even make a peep. The car is silent save for the sound of the wheels on the road, and Mingyu is scared. He’s honest to God scared and he’s not sure if this is a nightmare, or if he’s going to die, or-

The car stops. Mingyu holds his breath as the person driving him gets out, and then opens his door. He tugs him out of his seat and then leads him forward by the elbow. Mingyu stumbles a bit but eventually finds his footing, and then he practically has to run to keep up with the other man. They run on grass (Mingyu knows, he’s not wearing any shoes) for what seems like forever, and then suddenly Mingyu is let go and thrown to the ground. His hands are untied in no more than ten seconds, and then he can hear feet padding away, as well as voices yelling and cursing. He reaches up and tugs the bag off of his head, and then looks around.

He’s in a field.  _ A field _ . He isn’t alone, either. One look at all of the faces surrounding him, and he finds that he’s with his pledge class. He immediately spots Chan and Vernon towards the back of the group, and he stands up, his nostrils flaring.

“What the fuck is going on?” he asks, angrily, as he stalks towards them. He looks down and finds that Vernon is tending to a long scrape covering the majority of Chan’s forearm.

“We don’t know. You’re the last one to get here, everyone else got dropped off the same way.” Vernon tells him. He isn’t doing much with Chan’s arm, because he doesn’t have any supplies, but he’s dabbing away the blood with the bottom of his shirt and reassuring the younger that he’ll be fine.

“Did you see who dropped us off?”

“No. Everyone was wearing black and had their faces covered.” Vernon sighs. He stops dabbing at the cut and lets his shoulders fall, before looking up at Chan. “I don’t know what else to do. Does it hurt?”

“Yeah.” Chan admits. He cradles his arm in his other and winces. Mingyu sighs, because it’s a nasty looking cut.

“Well-” Mingyu begins, but is cut off by a phone ringing. He looks up and peers around the group, all of which looking just as confused as him. He then zeros in on an iPhone that’s sitting on a picnic table a couple of yards away. No one else has noticed it, so Mingyu makes the first move and stalks towards it, sliding the ‘answer’ button across the screen when he gets there.

He puts it on speaker. Everyone else crowds around him. Mingyu notices that pretty much everyone is shoeless, or shirtless, and it makes him mad because it’s  _ freezing _ out.

“Welcome to Big Little reveal.” the voice says over the speaker. It’s a computer generated voice, and Mingyu turns the volume up so that everyone can hear it. “You’ll find your first clue in this field. Good luck.”

And that’s all. They wait for more, but nothing comes, and eventually the call is cut off. Mingyu groans and slams the phone down onto the wooden table, turning to face everyone else.

His pledge brothers look pissed. Some others, like Chan, have various injuries. One has a cut on his knee that’s still bleeding. Another is holding his wrist in his arms, shivering. It angers Mingyu and he turns to Vernon and Chan, his face set in a glare.

“I’m going to fucking kill Minghao.”

“Do you know he’s your Big?” Vernon asks. Mingyu nods. “I didn’t think he’d do something like this.”

“I didn’t think  _ any _ of them would do something like this.” Mingyu replies. He glances around the field they’re stuck in and tries to pick out anything out of the ordinary, but he comes up empty. “He’s going to fucking die when I see him.”

“Hey, it’s not that bad.” Chan offers, ever the optimistic one. He tries to smile but Mingyu can tell he’s hurting. He’s also shivering, so Mingyu sighs and takes off his sweatshirt and hands it to the younger.

“No, you’re shirtless, I’m fine.” Chan argues, pushing the sweatshirt away. Mingyu rolls his eyes and thrusts his arm forward.

“I’m hot.” he says, and he is. He’s boiling, actually. That might have something to do with how  _ pissed _ he is, though.

“Guys, I found something!” one of the guys calls out, waving everyone over to him. Chan sighs and takes the sweatshirt from Mingyu, and then begins walking over to their pledge brother. Mingyu and Vernon follow close behind.

They come up on a clipboard. Mingyu bends down and finds that the piece of paper attached to it has all of their names on it, paired with a picture. He also finds that his name is side by side with Vernon’s.

“We’re twins.” he announces as he stands back up, turning to Vernon. Vernon raises an eyebrow at him.

“Like, Minghao is both of our Bigs.” he clarifies. Vernon ‘ahs’ and then nods.

“Also, we have to go to the grocery store right by campus.” Mingyu tells him. He knows this because the picture had been the logo for the grocery store, and Mingyu knows  _ which _ to go to because it’s the one he always takes Minghao to so that he can buy cheap beer with his fake.

“Okay.” Vernon says. He doesn’t argue it, nor does he ask any questions. “Except, where are we? How do we get there?”

Mingyu has no idea where they are. He just knows that they’re in a field, and there isn’t a single building in sight. Just tall grass and, off in the distance, trees. And a gravel parking lot.

“I don’t know.” he admits. He turns and finds Chan, who’s now standing next to his side, looking confused.

“What was your picture? Do you have a twin?” Vernon asks him. Chan shakes his head.

“No. I, uh, it’s just me. But I didn’t have a picture.”

Mingyu furrows his eyebrows together. He’s certainly not going to leave Chan by himself, and if Chan doesn’t have anywhere to start, then he isn’t leaving. Vernon is stuck with him, so he just stays put as well. The rest of his pledge brothers, though, begin to disperse and trek through the grass and wooded area. Mingyu watches as they all go.

“I guess it really is every man for himself with these types of things.” Chan sighs. “You guys don’t have to wait with me.”

“Uh, yes we do.” Mingyu scoffs. Leaving Chan out in the middle of nowhere by himself, in the middle of the night, when it’s pitch black? No thanks.

They stand there in silence for a couple of minutes. Mingyu makes a trip back to the phone to see if it holds any more clues, but it’s already dead. The clipboard doesn’t tell them anything else, either. They’re on their own. Mingyu is about to suggest that Chan just come with them, when a car pulls into the lot. Seokmin is hanging out the window, waving his arms in their direction. Mingyu throws the clipboard down and stalks towards him.

“You better fucking-”

“Hey, hey!” Seokmin cuts him off, shutting off his car and climbing out of the driver’s seat. He slams the door and holds his hands up defensively. “I didn’t know about this!”

_ “What?” _ Mingyu asks. He’s still pissed.

“They told me a couple of weeks ago that they were going to do something like this, but I told them that I didn’t want to participate. They said that that was fine because they probably weren’t going to do it anyways, but Jeonghan called me this afternoon and asked for clues and I told him I wasn’t going to give him any because this is  _ stupid, _ and then he just hung up.”

“Minghao texted me and asked if they had picked Chan up- I’m your Big, by the way- yet, and then I called Seungcheol and told him to give me the location because I wasn’t going to fucking make him go through that, and I tried to get here as soon as I could so that I could take all of you guys home in my car little by little, but looks like I was too late.”

Seokmin finishes and he’s out of breath, one hand running through his hair, the other flying about. Mingyu stares at him, jaw dropped.

“So they were just going to leave me here. By myself. After you told them you weren’t giving them any clues.” Chan whispers. Seokmin looks incredibly apologetic when he shrugs. That pisses Mingyu off even more, and he can feel his face heating up with every second that passes.

“I’m really sorry. I had no idea they actually  _ took _ you guys. Did everyone else just take off?”

“Yeah.” Mingyu grits out. “Do you know where Minghao is?”

“No, I don’t.” Seokmin sighs. “Uh, he’s probably with Soonyoung, though. He’s my twin, Soonyoung is our Big.”

Mingyu didn’t know this. In fact, Minghao’s never told him anything about Bigs and Littles before. He figures that this is probably why.

“I can take you guys home. This-”

“No.” Mingyu says. “I mean, Vernon, you can go home, but I want to finish this thing. So that I can fucking  _ clock _ Minghao when I see him.”

“I think I’ll stick it out too.” Vernon tells Seokmin, nodding. “Except, can you take us to the grocery store by campus? Because we don’t know where we are.”

Seokmin nods. He then looks down and scowls, before looking back up and sighing. He takes off his shoes and holds them out for Mingyu to take.

“Here.”

“Uh, thanks.” Mingyu says, taking the shoes. Chan then slips the sweatshirt off and hands it back to Mingyu.

“Sorry, it might be a little bloody.”

“Bloody?!” Seokmin screeches, whipping around and staring at Chan. Chan sighs and holds his arm out for the older to examine it. Seokmin takes his arm and grimaces at the cut.

“I’m taking you to the ER.”

“It’s not that bad, Seokmin-”

“I’m. Taking. You. To. The. ER.” Seokmin spits out, a certain finality to it. Mingyu agrees with him, because the cut is probably already infected, and it looks like it needs stitches. Chan just sighs and nods, and then draws his arm back to his front.

“Climb in, I’ll take you guys to the store first.” Seokmin says, turning around and climbing into the driver’s seat. Chan walks to the passenger’s side and gets in, and then Mingyu and Vernon climb into the back. Once Mingyu is in and the door is closed, he pulls the sweatshirt on and puts the shoes on his feet. They’re a little small, but it’s definitely better than being barefoot.

They’re actually not as stranded as he had thought, Mingyu determines, once they make it off of the gravel road. They were just in the nature center about five minutes from campus. In the dark, though, it would have been nearly impossible to make their way out of it. He hopes everyone else is okay, but he can’t help but be thankful for Seokmin.

They make it to the store in no time, because there’s no one out on the roads and the stoplights are set on flashing red. Seokmin parks near the front entrance and then turns around to face Vernon and Mingyu, his face sad.

“I’m going to talk to them about this. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Mingyu says. “It’s not your fault.”

“I know, but-”

“Hey, we don’t blame you.” Vernon pipes up. “Just make sure he’s okay.” He points to Chan, who’s fallen asleep in the front seat, his head propped up against the window. Seokmin sighs nods.

“Do you guys have a phone?” Both Mingyu and Vernon shake their head ‘no’. Seokmin doesn’t say anything else as he takes his phone out of one of the cupholders and hands it over to them.

“Text Chan’s phone if you need anything. The password is 2684.”

Mingyu know’s Seokmin isn’t going to argue with him, so he takes the phone with a ‘thanks’ and then opens up the car door. He climbs out and slams the door shut behind him, still angry.

“Thanks for bringing us here.” he tells Seokmin through the window. Seokmin nods, and then puts the car into drive, driving off and leaving him and Vernon in the parking lot. Mingyu sighs.

“See anything?” Mingyu asks. Vernon shakes his head.

They walk aimlessly around the parking lot for what seems like forever. The store is closed, so they can’t go in, and nothing outside jumps out at them. That is, until they find a lone shopping cart in the center of a parking space, with a sticky note taped to it.

‘Alley’ is all it says. Mingyu rolls his eyes and balls up the sticky note, throwing it down onto the ground before stomping off. Vernon follows him and doesn’t say a word, which is probably a good thing, because Mingyu really is going to blow a gasket. He just trails behind the older as they make their way to the alleyway, where Mingyu  _ hopes _ he finds Minghao, so that he can beat the shit out of him.

He doesn’t find him there. After three miles of walking, with too-small-shoes on his feet, all Mingyu finds is a sack of clothes. Two pairs of sweatpants, two sweatshirts, two pairs of socks. He’s mad but he’s freezing, so he pulls the socks and sweatpants on, and then leaves the extra sweatshirt that neither of them use in the bag because he’s petty. He then reads the next sticky note out loud.

“Red Velvet.” he says. It takes him a second to understand it. “That’s Minghao’s favorite shake flavor at Steak & Shake.”

“Oh my God, we were literally just right across the street from there.” Vernon groans. They don’t have a choice, though, so Mingyu balls the sticky note up and starts the trek back. The closest Steak & Shake is  _ right _ across the street from the grocery store they were at, and after everything, it just makes him hate Minghao even more.

It takes them longer to walk there than it did for them to walk to the alley, because they’re both exhausted. One look down at Seokmin’s phone and Mingyu finds that it’s 5:02 am. It’s still pitch black out, but it’s nearly morning, and there are more cars out on the road. A couple of the driver’s stare at them.

They make it to Steak & Shake by 5:15. Mingyu hopes that this is the last place they have to go to, because his feet hurt and he’s chilled to the bone. Vernon isn’t doing much better either; he’s been shaking for the past 20 minutes. Luckily, though, after walking into the parking lot, Mingyu spots Minghao sitting on the bench outside the door.

His pace quickens as he stalks towards him. Vernon jogs to keep up.

“Hey! You guys made it way quicker than I thought you would.” Minghao stands up and flashes them a smile and it  _ pisses _ Mingyu off. “Soonyoung got us a table and-” 

“Wait.” Mingyu says, coming to a stop in front of who’s  _ supposed _ to be his best friend. “You...you thought we’d show up, and we’d all have a happy family dinner, and that would be it?”

Minghao’s face falls, and he begins to play with his thumbs, something that Mingyu knows is his nervous tick.

“I was fully prepared to beat the shit out of you when I saw you, but now I just feel bad for you.”

Vernon stays silent next to Mingyu. Minghao doesn’t say a word.

“Seokmin had to take Chan to the emergency room because he has a fucking gash on his forearm from being pushed to the ground. It’s, like, 30 degrees out and half of the guys are out here running around without shoes or a shirt, or both. I’m pretty sure one kid broke his wrist. Is this funny to you guys?”

“I-” Minghao begins, but stops himself. Clearly he doesn’t know what to say.

“Um.” Vernon mumbles, finally speaking up from besides Mingyu. “You know, I’m just going to head home. I’m sure Seungkwan is freaking out.”

Mingyu’s stomach drops.  _ Wonwoo. _ He had completely forgotten about the older while he was being fucking  _ dragged _ out of his apartment. He wonders if he’s okay, if he even knows what’s going on. He doesn’t think about it too much though, and instead turns around and begins walking back to the sidewalk.

“Wait, Mingyu-” 

“No.” Mingyu says, not bothering to turn around and face Minghao. “I’m going home.”

He doesn’t wait to see if Minghao says anything else. He sets out in a jog the minute he gets to the sidewalk, because honestly all he really cares about is getting back to Wonwoo. Vernon knows his way back and they really aren’t all that far away from campus, and Mingyu is pretty sure that now that Minghao knows how mad he is, he’ll offer to give Vernon a ride back.

So he runs. He’s never particularly liked running, but something about the breeze flowing through his hair and stinging his cheeks makes him feel better. His anger turns into disappointment, because out of everyone, he never thought that Minghao would do something like that.

He’s okay with the stupid pledge duties. He didn’t mind the interviews. Hell, he wouldn’t even complain about being forced to chug liquor at a party. But this? He had been honest to God terrified, and it’ll probably shake him up for the next couple of days. He really did think he was being kidnapped, and now that he remembers that Wonwoo was there, it makes it even worse. He’s not sure what he would do if something had happened to the older as well.

It doesn’t take him all that long to get back to his apartment, now that he’s practically sprinting. He’s out of breath by the time he reaches the staircase leading up to his floor, but that doesn’t stop him from climbing them two at a time and racing to his front door. He’s still breathing hard when he turns the knob and pushes the door forward, stepping into his apartment as quietly as he can.

Turns out he doesn’t have to, though. When he looks up he finds Wonwoo pacing the living room, clearly distraught, while Jun and Joshua sit on the couch and watch him. Except, once he clears his throat, they all turn towards him.

“Oh, thank God.” Wonwoo breaths out, and he immediately runs towards Mingyu, enveloping him into a hug and digging his face into his chest. Mingyu brings his arms up hugs him back, sighing into his hair that smells of his now-familiar mint shampoo.

“I thought...I thought…” Wonwoo whimpers. Mingyu pulls back and notices the tear stains on the older’s cheeks. He doesn’t mention it, though, and just pulls Wonwoo back into his chest while he pets at his hair.

“I’m fine.” he says. “It was a hazing thing. They took us and…” he doesn’t finish his sentence. He doesn’t think he has too, because Wonwoo clutches tighter at his sweatshirt and groans.

“I heard a bang and rolled over and you weren’t there, and, and, I got up and saw the front door was slightly open but you were gone, and I went back and saw your phone was still here, and…” Wonwoo sniffles a little and Mingyu is pretty sure he’s crying into his sweatshirt but he doesn’t care one bit.

“I promise, I’m okay.” he reassures the older again. He then looks up at Jun and Joshua, who have now stood up from the couch and are watching them closely. Jun looks tired, while Joshua is sporting a look of disappointment that even Mingyu would cower at. He knows it’s not directed at him, though.

“I almost called the cops. I thought you were gone.” Wonwoo chokes out. Mingyu’s heart breaks at that. Fuck titles, Mingyu doesn’t care if Wonwoo ever agrees to be his ‘boyfriend’, just as long as he can have him like this. Well, minus the crying. Unless it’s happy tears, then Mingyu can deal with that.

“I’m right here.” Mingyu whispers. He runs his hands through the back of Wonwoo’s hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Wonwoo nods, and then they stand there for a few moments, just holding each other. Wonwoo pulls away though, almost suddenly, his eyes red and wide.

“Why do you smell like blood?”

“It’s Chan’s.” Mingyu tells him, and then realizes that that’s the wrong thing to say, because Wonwoo’s eyes grow bigger and Joshua makes a noise from the other side of the room.

“He, uh, cut his arm up real bad. Seokmin took him to the ER.”

_ “Seokmin _ was a part of this?” Jun asks. Mingyu looks up at him and shakes his head quickly, in an attempt to defend his friend.

“No! He had no idea. He picked us up from where we were taken and then took Chan to the ER after dropping me and Vernon off.”

“Well, is he okay?” Joshua asks. He’s biting his lip and looks simultaneously pissed and worried.

“I think so. He just probably needed some stitches.”

Joshua nods. Jun looks mad now, and not so much tired. Wonwoo just looks surprised. Mingyu suddenly remembers that Wonwoo had told him that Theta doesn’t do this kind of stuff. He briefly wonders if he chose the wrong frat.

“Well, if you guys are okay, I’m going to head out…” Joshua announces. “I’m going to go yell at my fucking best friend for being the dumbest piece of shit on Earth.”

Mingyu has never heard Joshua talk like this, it comes as a bit of a surprise to him. Even Wonwoo flinches at the older’s tone.

“I’m going to head back too.” Jun says. He turns to Mingyu. “Let me know how Chan is in the morning, or tell Wonwoo and have him text me.”

“Okay.” Mingyu nods. The two older boys slowly make their way towards the door, throwing waves over their shoulders. Mingyu and Wonwoo say their goodbyes to them, and then once they’re out the door, Mingyu locks it. He’s not taking any more chances, and he’s also taking Minghao’s key away from him the first chance he gets.

“I’m going to take a shower. I have blood on me.” Mingyu tells Wonwoo, sighing and running a hand through his hair. Wonwoo walks towards him and laces their fingers together.

“Well, I’m coming with you.” Mingyu gives him a weird look, and Wonwoo’s cheeks tint pink. “I don’t want you to disappear again.”

Mingyu cracks a smile. It’s the first time he’s smiled all night. On impulse, he reaches down and places a kiss on the corner of Wonwoo’s mouth, and then begins to drag the other to the bathroom.

He shuts the door behind them once they’re both in the room. Wonwoo hops up and sits on the sink counter, while Mingyu starts the water and begins to undress. Wonwoo doesn’t watch him, but Mingyu doesn’t think it makes a difference, because he’s not turned on at all. He’s too tired, both physically and mentally.

He steps into the stream of water after it’s heated up, and then lets it hit his back for awhile. He feels off, though. So, he sticks his head out from behind the curtain, and looks at Wonwoo.

“You can join me.” he says. “I don’t want to do anything. I just, you know...want you near me.”

Wonwoo bites back a smile and nods, before hopping down from the counter. He tugs his shirt off and then goes to work on his pants. Mingyu doesn’t watch, and instead leans back into the water. Wonwoo joins him not even ten seconds later.

Mingyu pulls the older to him. They stand there, wrapped around each other, as the water pellets hit them in the back. Well, the back for Wonwoo. Mingyu has to close his eyes to keep the spray from blinding him.

“I’m really sorry I scared you.” Mingyu whispers into Wonwoo’s hair. Wonwoo leans back and looks up into Mingyu’s eyes. His hair is damp against his forehead, and Mingyu finds him adorable.

“It’s not your fault.” the older says. “I’m just glad you’re back, and that you’re okay.”

Mingyu nods. He’s glad, too.

“Except, I’m going to kill Seungcheol, Soonyoung, and Jeonghan when I see them next. That was the dumbest fucking hazing event I’ve ever heard of.”

“It was for Big Little reveal.” Mingyu explains, like that makes it  _ any _ better.

“Oh, so Minghao knew about it too?” Mingyu nods. “Great, he’s on my hit list too.”

Mingyu laughs. Wonwoo cracks his own smile, and then reaches down and grabs Mingyu’s shampoo bottle.

“Turn around, I’m going to wash your hair.”

“Are you sure you can reach it?” Mingyu jokes. Wonwoo flicks him on the forehead.

“Shut up, I’m like an inch shorter than you.”

Mingyu laughs again and turns around. A few seconds later Wonwoo starts massaging his scalp, and Mingyu thinks it’s the best feeling he’s ever felt.

Despite the night’s previous shitty events, Mingyu’s not sure he’s ever been happier. Just having Wonwoo by his side, safe and sound, makes everything better.

He realizes he’s really, truly fucked, but in the moment he doesn’t care. Not in the least bit. He wonders if this is what love feels like, as Wonwoo runs his fingers through his hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of your sweet comments on the last chapter! I really appreciated them :) 
> 
> Disclaimer: This actually happened to a friend of mine last year, and it traumatized him for nearly six months. So just don't, idk, haze people. Also I don't think anyone in Seventeen would participate in anything like this, putting that out there Just In Case someone gets the wrong idea. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, hope you guys liked this chapter!!!


	9. Chapter 9

“Mingyu.”

_“Mingyu.”_

“Mingyu!”

Mingyu turns and glares at Minghao. Minghao is holding a ticket out to him, and he looks pissed, though he doesn’t say anything. Mingyu grabs the ticket out of the younger’s hands and then stalks away; he doesn’t have a destination, but he doesn’t want to be anywhere near the other at the moment. Luckily, he finds Vernon standing by a wall talking to a girl from Sigma Chi, so he heads their way and wills the frown off of his face.

“Hey, Mingyu.” Vernon greets upon his arrival, flashing him a smile. Mingyu smiles back and then turns to the girl, softening his grin a little.

“Hi, I’m Mingyu.”

“I’m Ashley.” the girl replies, and her face reddens, which Mingyu _definitely_ notices. She’s short, and has brown hair and big, blue eyes, and Mingyu _might_ have flirted with her had he not had his big ‘I’m gay, and definitely not bi’ revelation the week before college started. And, you know...Wonwoo.

“Ashley’s in my biomed class.” Vernon explains, gesturing towards the other. “She’s a nursing major and just transferred this semester so she doesn’t really know anyone in the sorority yet.”

“Great introduction Vernon, thank you.” Ashley says, laughing a little. Mingyu smirks. Vernon has a habit of often over sharing, and saying things he maybe shouldn’t say. At least, not when you’re first introducing someone. “But, yeah. I was glad I had a friend from class that we were paired with because I guess I really don’t know that many people.”

“Well, you can definitely sit with us then.” Mingyu offers. The last thing he wants is for someone to have to sit alone, especially since they’re all forced to attend this event anyways.

“Speaking of ‘us’, where’s everyone else?”

“Oh!” Vernon pushes off of the wall. “Seokmin is getting ready, and Chan is helping him. Soonyoung was supposed to help, but, you know…” he trails off. Mingyu nods. “And Minghao is, uh-”

Mingyu grimaces. To say he’s still pretty pissed would be an understatement. He’s actually not all that mad about what was done to him, really. He’s more angered by the fact that Chan now has a line of stitches up his forearm, and is on an antibiotic for an infection. Also, their pledge brother actually _did_ break his wrist, and another is out sick for the entire week with a cold-turned-sinus-infection. Maybe things would be better by now but not one of the older guys has apologized, Seungcheol even canceled their new member meeting for the week without any explanation, so yeah, Mingyu is still fuming. The only one who’s made an effort is Minghao, but Mingyu doesn’t want to deal with him, so…

“So it’s just us then?” Mingyu asks. Vernon shrugs.

They’re awaiting being let into the ‘Rockstar’ event for homecoming, is why he asks. It’s just a mass of fraternity and sorority kids outside of the campus arena, and Mingyu really doesn’t have any idea who’s who. Each chapter has their letters with them and Mingyu thinks he saw Soonyoung with theirs, but he’s long gone by now, so he doesn’t worry about it. It really is just him, Vernon, and Ashley. Maybe they’ll get lucky and find the Theta Phi guys inside. They’re supposed to sit together anyways, since they’re on the same team.

“Hey, how’s Seungkwan feeling?” Mingyu asks then, turning back to Vernon.

“Ah, he was so nervous.” Vernon replies, smiling widely and shaking his head. “All day long. But he’ll be fine, he’s going to do great.”

Mingyu still hasn’t heard the younger sing, _for real,_ yet. He has to admit he’s kind of excited. For Seokmin, too, because he’s never really heard him sing either. He’s mad at all of his other ‘brothers’, but maybe this will be worth it.

They’re let into the arena a good 20 minutes later, when it’s starting to get dark outside and the wind has picked up. Mingyu hadn’t brought a jacket and he’s freezing by the time he makes it to the entrance, handing a girl with a bucket his ticket before following Vernon and Ashley all around the mezzanine. He doesn’t know where they’re going until he spots the Sigma Chi letters propped up against the front of one of the seating sections. Then he sees Kappa’s, and then Theta’s, so he sighs and follows the other two down the steps until they find an empty row of seats.

“This good?” Vernon asks, and Mingyu nods, walking behind Ashley towards the middle of the row. She sits in between him and Vernon, looking a little less uncomfortable than she had earlier. Mingyu glances around the rest of the section and notices that most of the girls from Sigma Chi are sitting towards the front of the section, while all of the guys from Kappa and Theta are spread out behind them. Actually, all of the sections are like that. He smirks and turns towards the other two.

“How long does this thing last?” he asks, curious. He has a paper to write that’s due at midnight; he hasn’t even started it.

“Don’t know, but probably awhile.”

Mingyu grimaces. He’s about to ask another question, something about if he can skip out after Seungkwan and Seokmin, and the girl from Sigma Chi, are done singing, but then someone sits down next to him and grabs his attention. He turns his head and finds Wonwoo, followed by Jun, Jihoon, and Joshua. He grins.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Wonwoo smiles back. Mingyu throws a wave at the other three and then focuses all of his attention on the older. He’s texted him every day this week, but they haven’t seen each other in person, mostly because Mingyu had skipped psychology to sleep.

“How are you?”

Wonwoo shrugs. “Fine. What about you? You weren’t in psych.”

Mingyu huffs out a laugh. He nods.

“Yeah, you know…”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

They make a bit of small talk after that, not really talking about much, just filling the silence. Mingyu introduces Ashley to all of the other guys, and she looks intimidated at first until Jun strikes up a conversation about her _shirt,_ of all things, and then he has to switch chairs with the older so they’re not talking across each other. It goes on like that for what Mingyu thinks is at least 30 minutes, until the lights finally dim, and the arena fills with screams and cheers. He sighs and straightens up in his chair, turning away from Wonwoo so that he can listen to the MC.

Introductions happen first, but it’s only for the other MC’s and then the judges. It’s a typical panel of judges: a couple of teachers, the head of the music department, the university president. Mingyu claps for all of them because Wonwoo does. And then the MC announces that they’re going to get started, which earns her more screams and cheers from mostly the sorority girls.

Mingyu doesn’t really pay attention to the first five performances. He doesn’t know who they are, and they aren’t that great. He’d _like_ to say that he has a good ear, and yeah. He isn’t blown away. Apparently Wonwoo isn’t, either, because halfway through the third performance his head drops to the side, right on Mingyu’s shoulder. His eyes don’t close but Mingyu can tell he’s exhausted. The only reason he sits up again is because the Sigma Chi girls start screaming. Out walks their ‘Rockstar’, and _oh,_ Mingyu thinks. He sighs at the lost contact on his shoulder, as well as his blown out ear drum.

“Next up we have Maddie, from Sigma Chi Omega!” the MC greets, and the cheers get louder, until they eventually taper off as the girl adjusts the microphone. Mingyu sits up in his chair a little. He recognizes the girl as the homecoming chair for Sigma Chi.

Maddie starts singing, and she’s good. Better than any of the other’s that have performed. Mingyu isn’t sure who the artist of the song that she’s singing is, but he recognizes the song, and she does it justice. Even Jihoon claps when she gets done, which is surprising, because he hasn’t raised an eyebrow at any of the others. Of course, all of the Sigma Chi girls freak out, which has Mingyu smiling.

The MC walks back out once the audience has calmed down, and congratulates Maddie for doing a good job, before announcing the next singer. Mingyu doesn’t know this guy, either, so like the others, he tunes him out. Unfortunately this guy isn’t as good as Maddie so the crowd is kind of dead, so really it’s a blessing when the MC waves him off the stage and begins to announce the next participate.

He doesn’t even get Seungkwan’s full name out of his mouth before Vernon is out of chair, whooping and hollering and cheering for his best friend. Mingyu doesn’t get embarrassed by many things, but he automatically slides down in his chair and covers his face, especially when literally the _entire_ arena laughs at the younger. But then the laughs turn into cheers, and somehow it turns into the loudest greeting for anyone of the night.

They aren’t sitting _that_ close to the stage, but it’s clear as day how flustered Seungkwan is. His smile is quipped and his face is bright red when the music begins to play. Mingyu doesn’t recognize the beat, so he sits up and waits patiently for the other to start singing.

The minute Seungkwan opens his mouth, Mingyu’s jaw drops, because the kid is good. _Really_ good. Mingyu is blown away, honestly. He hadn’t expected _that_ voice to come out of Seungkwan. Just by glancing sideways he can tell that everyone is stunned, too. Actually, the entire arena is silent. The song is slower and Mingyu can tell that everyone is just trying to savor every last word. He still doesn’t recognize the song but he catches a few words of the chorus, and decides that he’ll google it when Seungkwan is done.

_I wanna sing, I wanna shout_

_I wanna scream 'til the words dry out_

_So put it in all of the papers,_

_I'm not afraid_

_They can read all about it_

_Read all about it, oh_

The last few lines Seungkwan sings are quiet, almost, and full of emotion. Mingyu’s eyes are wide the entire time. When the music cuts and the lights dim, the arena is still silent, but only for a split second, before everyone jumps from their chairs and starts screaming, Mingyu included. Even Jihoon participates. Joshua stands on top of his chair and starts whooping, and soon Jun follows him, until almost every Theta Phi guy in attendance is chanting Seungkwan’s name. The MC has to literally tell them to stop, because it lasts for at least 3 minutes and they have more acts. Mingyu laughs the entire time. The only reason he stops is because he glances over at Vernon, and finds the younger crying.

“Why are you crying?!” he whispers shouts, over Wonwoo, Jun, and Ashley. Vernon turns to him and furiously wipes at his eyes.

“I didn’t know he was going to sing _that_ song!” Vernon whisper shouts back, his voice watery. Mingyu quirks an eyebrow. “He- I’ll text it to you.”

Mingyu just nods and turns back around, facing the stage again. Another girl is walking up to the mic. He doesn’t pay attention. Instead, he pulls out his phone and awaits Vernon’s message.

 

**> he was fucking singing that after we had sex after we got back from jihoons and i think he thought i was asleep but i wasnt and i heard him and when i opened my eyes he was like ‘oh thats our song bc i want to scream to the world that ur mine’ lIKE WTF KIND OF CHEESY ASS SHIT IS THAT and i didnt know it was a SONG**

 

Mingyu grimaces down at his phone for a couple of seconds until he replies.

 

**youre making that up thats straight up out of a romance novel or some shit <**

**> YOU CANT MAKE THIS SHIT UP**

 

“Is he okay?” Wonwoo asks, leaning over Mingyu’s shoulder a little. Mingyu smiles and pockets his phone before nodding.

“Fine. He’s just dramatic.”

“Are they a thing?” Wonwoo then asks after a few seconds, referring to Vernon and Seungkwan.

Mingyu would assume that _yeah, they are,_ so he nods.  

“I think.”

“Hm.” Wonwoo just nods a couple of time and leans back into his chair.

The MC announces that there are three more acts for the first round _(first round,_ Mingyu cringes), before he announces the first one. It’s another sorority girl, and she’s decent. She also has backup dancers. The second is someone from an agriculture fraternity, but Mingyu doesn’t get to focus on him as much, because suddenly Chan plops himself down next to Vernon in their row. Mingyu has to lean over Wonwoo to catch the tail end of their discussion.

“Oh yeah, he’s freaking out, but he should be okay. He practiced, like, all day long. I don’t think he’s ever skipped a class before but he skipped all of his today.”

Chan is cut off by the MC coming back on stage, after the last guy finishes his bow and quickly runs towards the exit stairs. There’s only one person left to perform, which is obviously Seokmin, so Mingyu joins all of the other Kappa members in standing because he actually likes Seokmin.

“Last but not last we have Seokmin, from Kappa Mu!”

Seokmin doesn’t get as loud of a greeting as Seungkwan had, because there was no ‘Vernon’, but it’s close to it. Despite everything that’s happened, everyone cheers extremely loud. Soonyoung jumps up on his seat and claps. Seokmin still hates mostly all of them, but he flashes a smile their way, before taking ahold of the mic stand.

Mingyu expects flashing lights and powerful music, because Seokmin is kind of _extra,_ but they don’t get that. They don’t get that at all. Instead, they get dimmed lights and a spotlight on Seokmin, and then he just...sings.

His voice starts off soft and Mingyu doesn’t recognize the song at first, but then he does, and he almost laughs.

“Why in the _hell_ is he singing _Man in the Mirror?”_ Wonwoo asks, jabbing Mingyu lightly in the side. Mingyu shrugs and chuckles lightly, but continues to listen to Seokmin. He has a nice voice, but he can’t really tell if he’s as good as Seungkwan yet because he’s still singing quietly. It’s nice though.

And then the lights flash, and music starts up, and Seokmin just _goes_ for it. He belts out a note and hits another and gives it his all and everyone is left kind of speechless until they break out into cheers, singing and clapping along like it’s Seokmin’s own concert. Mingyu joins; he’s pleasantly surprised.

By the time Seokmin is done, everyone is out of their seat. He, like Seungkwan, gets a standing ovation. Mingyu might be biased a little though, because he definitely liked Seokmin’s performance better.

“If all three off them aren’t in the final round, I’m suing.” Vernon shouts as the cheers die down, and everyone sits back down in their seats. Everyone around them laughs, but they agree nonetheless, because it’s true. No one should beat them.

The MC announces that the judges need time to decide who the five finalists are, so they announce an intermission. Most of the students get up to go use the restroom, or to get a snack, but Mingyu stays planted. He’s not one for crowds anyways, and there’s a flood of people next to the staircase.

“Hey, Mingyu.” Mingyu turns and finds Wonwoo staring up at him, grinning. “I’m going to the concession stand, want to come?”

Well, fuck the crowd. Mingyu’s going to the concession stand.

They both stand from their seats and then proceed to make their way towards the staircase, pushing past stationary people before finally making it to the steps. Wonwoo climbs them two at a time and Mingyu follows, almost chasing after him. The older slows down once they reach the top.

“I’m so thirsty.” Wonwoo admits as they walk to the concession stand, which has a long line, but Mingyu doesn’t mind. At least Wonwoo is with him. “I’ve been thirsty since this thing started.”

“You should have told me, I could have gotten you something.” Mingyu tells him. Wonwoo rolls his eyes and gets in the line behind a group of girls. Mingyu just grins at him.

The wait really isn’t that long, as far as Mingyu can tell. Wonwoo spends the entire time offering his opinion on all of the acts, because apparently he had been paying attention. His thoughts are much more in depth and _involved_ than Mingyu’s, but Mingyu agrees with all of them because he likes listening to Wonwoo talk. Once Wonwoo gets his sprite (which Mingyu pays for, despite Wonwoo trying to push him out of the way), he wraps up his speech and heads back to their seats, this time with Mingyu’s hand on his lower back.

Mingyu smiles the entire way there.

“Oh, hey, I was going to ask you-” Wonwoo begins as they sit down.

“Yeah?”

“I just, you know, was wondering, and you don’t have to but uh, if you-”

Wonwoo doesn’t get a chance to finish because suddenly the lights dim and the MC appears on the stage again.

“Hey, ask me when we’re done.” Mingyu tells him, because it’s loud again and he can hardly hear the older. Wonwoo nods and turns towards the stage, taking another drink of his sprite.

“Everyone did a great job tonight, thank you for sharing your talents with us!” the MC says, and you can tell it’s scripted. “I have in my hand the top five finalists, in no particular order! They’ll sing one last song for us tonight.”

Everyone cheers. Mingyu groans. He’s going to be here for another year, apparently.

“We have...drum roll please.” The stands start shaking, Mingyu grimaces. “Seungkwan, from Beta Theta Phi!”

A scream sounds from Mingyu’s right and he knows it’s Vernon, so when he turns his head he’s not surprised to see the younger standing up, clapping.

“Yeah, that’s my boyfriend!” Vernon screams and Mingyu’s eyes widen, because he never expected Vernon to just come out and _say_ it. A bunch of people laugh at him, but not in a menacing way, and a few even clap him on the shoulder.

“You just told half the school that you’re dating him.” Mingyu hears Chan tell Vernon. He leans forward and across Wonwoo to watch the other’s reaction.

“Yeah, he’s probably going to kill me.” Vernon shrugs, a huge smile plastered across his face as he sits back down. “I don’t care, I’m so proud of him.”

It’s a stupid singing competition between greek life, but Mingyu can’t help but wonder if he’d be as happy as Vernon is right now if Wonwoo was in Seungkwan’s position. He decides that _yeah, he would be,_ and then doesn’t give Vernon any shit, because he finally understands.

Amidst all of the hype of Seungkwan, they miss three other contestants being called, one of which is Maddie. The only reason Mingyu knows this is because the Sigma Chi girls are still screaming and cheering for her.

“And last but not least, we have Seokmin, from Kappa Mu!”

The Sigma Chi girls scream louder, which is accompanied by the yells of the Kappa and Theta boys, because all three of their contestants are in the final round. At least one of them will win _something._ Mingyu can’t help but be a little happy.

They don’t go in order of being announced, because the MC then tells everyone that Seokmin will sing first. Because of that, the cheers from their section don’t die down until Seokmin steps up to the microphone after all of the other contestants have left the stage.

Music starts from the beginning this time and Mingyu doesn’t register which song it is until all of the girls start screaming.

It’s a rendition of _Love on the Brain_ by Rihanna. Seokmin hits all of the high notes perfectly, and every time he does the girls scream louder. Mingyu also watches the judges, and they all just smile at Seokmin, kind of like they’re in love.

When Seokmin gets done he gets another standing ovation, this time from the judges too. He leaves a lot for the following acts to measure up to.

The second girl doesn’t do as well, it’s obvious by the audience's reaction. Maddie goes next and she does okay, but it isn’t as strong as her first performance. Mingyu hopes that the judges are judging based off of both. The third boy Mingyu hardly even pays attention to, because he sings a slow song and it nearly puts him to sleep. He almost forgets to clap when he’s done.

By the time Seungkwan is called onto the stage, Mingyu is over it. It’s obvious that everyone else is over it too. Even Vernon looks tired. But the crowd comes alive again the minute  Seungkwan opens his mouth, because _wow,_ he fucking blows everyone out of the water.

He sings _Chandelier_ by Sia, and Mingyu doesn’t listen to Sia like, ever, but he’s positive that Seungkwan sings the song better than her. Everyone is on their feet by the second line, singing and clapping along as well as cheering for him. The judges don’t even try to make any notes on their papers, they just watch in amazement. Mingyu can relate.

It’s pretty clear who the winner should be when Seungkwan gets done, but the MC announces they the judges still have to ‘deliberate’, which means that they go into another intermission. Mingyu immediately turns to Wonwoo to ask him what he wanted to previously ask him, but Wonwoo is already engaged in a conversation with Jun, so he turns to his phone to keep him company.

The intermission only lasts about 10 minutes this time, which everyone is immensely grateful for, because it’s almost 9 at night. As soon as the MC comes back on stage the crowd goes silent, waiting for the winners to be announced so that they can leave. All of the participants gather on the stage and stand in one line across it, and they all look nervous, which just adds to the anticipation.

“Thank you all again for performing for us tonight!” the MC shouts, waving a hand towards the five remaining contestants. The crowd cheers. “We’ll begin with third place.”

The MC waits a few seconds, because they always do, and then she reads the name on the notecard.

“Maddie, from Sigma Chi Omega!”

Their section erupts in cheers. Mingyu fights the urge to hold his hands over his ears, and instead claps with the rest of his friends.

When the cheers settle down, the MC pulls out the next notecard. She waits again, and then smiles.

“Second place is...Seokmin, from Kappa Mu!”

Their section cheers again. Mingyu looks down the rows and notices that Soonyoung and Seungcheol are by far the loudest. They’re screaming and jumping on their seats, while waving their hands in the air. Seokmin waves in their direction as he accepts his sash, and flashes them a genuine smile.

Mingyu chances a glance at Minghao, who’s standing next to Jeonghan. He allows himself to long for his best friend for five seconds, and then he turns back to the stage.

“And can we get a drumroll please.” the MC requests, and all Mingyu can think is _I hate the fucking drumroll._ She takes out the last notecard and her face breaks out into an even wider grin.

“And for first place we have...Seungkwan, from Beta Theta Phi!”

The last part of the fraternity can’t even be heard, because their section is screaming again. They’re 3 for 3, and not only do they _all_ get bragging rights, but their points for homecoming week are definitely now way higher than everyone else’s. They’ll probably win the entire thing. Mingyu understands enough to know that it’s exciting.

Vernon is screaming the loudest, of course, and doesn’t stop until the MC announces that everyone can _finally_ leave. Mingyu is about to do just that, but the stairs are already backed up, so he decides to just wait it out. Which turns out to be fine because all of his other friends have the same idea.

“That’s the first time a team has swept them all.” Joshua tells the group as they all stand around, giddy with excitement. “It’s rare to even have two people from the same team win.”

They only have to wait about 5 minutes for the stairs to clear out. The only one who doesn’t follow them is Vernon, who’s been looking down at his phone the whole time, grinning as he texts.

“I’m going to go meet Seungkwan.” he tells everyone. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Tell him we said congratulations.” Mingyu says. Vernon nods and then waves at them, before turning the opposite way and heading towards the stage. Mingyu turns back around and heads up the stairs after Jihoon, Wonwoo right behind him.

When they make it to the top of the stairs, everyone starts to disperse. The older guys head towards the door that leads to the parking lot, the younger ones head to the one that leads back to the dorms. Mingyu had driven, and he has to wait for Seokmin anyways, so he plants himself next to a pillar. Wonwoo follows him, but so does Ashley, and Wonwoo is preoccupied with his phone so Mingyu turns to Ashley first.

“Thanks for letting me tag along with you guys tonight.” Ashley tells him. Mingyu nods and grins.

“No problem.”

“And by the way, you and Wonwoo are really cute together.” Mingyu, caught off guard, opens his mouth to protest, but Ashley continues. “Like, I thought you were cute and super nice, but you and Wonwoo are way cuter than we would ever be.”

Mingyu glances at Wonwoo. The older is a few feet away, and isn’t acting like he had heard.

“We uh…”

“Don’t tell me you’re not together.”

“We’re not.” Mingyu admits. He feels his face flush. Ashley rolls her eyes.

“Oh, sure. You had your hand on his thigh for half of the night.”

Mingyu...had not noticed that. His face flushes more, if that’s even possible. Ashley smiles at him.

“Anyways, I’ll probably see you tomorrow at the float building thing. I still don’t know what we’re doing.” Ashley starts making her way towards the exit. “Bye!”

“Bye!” Mingyu calls after her. He watches as she leaves the building, and then takes a deep breath, before turning back to Wonwoo.

Wonwoo is looking at him, and he looks considerably less...happy, than usual. Mingyu quirks an eyebrow at him.

“You okay?”

“Fine.” Wonwoo says, though his voice is slightly gravelly. “Uh, I’m going to head out.”

“Okay.” Mingyu steps towards him. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, right?”

They have to assemble their parade float at the Theta house and Mingyu’s heard that it’s an all-nighter kind of thing. He’s not looking forward to it.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” Mingyu says again. He smiles a soft smile, and is about to say goodbye, until he remembers something.

“Oh, hey, what were you going to ask me earlier?”

“Oh.” Wonwoo scratches the back of his neck, something he only does when he’s embarrassed or nervous. “It’s nothing. I mean, uh, it’s not important.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep.” Wonwoo visibly sighs and then jabs a thumbs towards the exit. “I’m just gonna…”

“Yeah, okay. See you later.”

Wonwoo just waves as he walks towards the door. Mingyu watches him go and he knows the older is acting weird, but he decides to let it be. Maybe he just doesn’t feel good.

That doesn’t stop him from thinking about it, though. He doesn’t really think about anything else until he and Seokmin get back to the apartment. He doesn’t even really think about anything else when he showers, either.

It’s weird when he doesn’t get a goodnight text from the older. He just prays that he hadn’t done anything wrong, as he attempts to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had a mental breakdown writing this because seokmin is my ult but. anyways.


	10. Chapter 10

_ Dear Pledges,  _

_ On behalf of all of your older brothers, I would like to formally apologize for the Big Little Reveal events that took place last week. We were not thinking about the outcomes when planning the event, and now realize that it was inappropriate. We would like to take responsibility for our actions by not requiring you to help with the float today. Instead, we will be taking over all of your shifts that I had sent out last week. I am also cancelling all of your pledge duties. Please enjoy your break, and again, we are truly sorry for our actions regarding the event. I hope to see all of you at the next new member meeting. _

_ Yours truly, _

_ Seungcheol _

_ Kappa Mu President _

 

Mingyu scowls down at the email he’s just received. On one hand, he’s happy that he doesn’t have to help with the homecoming float tonight, because his shift had been  _ four hours long _ and was from  _ 11:00 pm to 3:00 am. _ On the other hand, though, he’s still annoyed, because he had hoped for an in-person apology before anything else. He hopes that they’ll get something like that at the meeting. 

He’s in his kitchen making ramen noodles, after having read through the email, when someone knocks on his front door. He wasn’t expecting anyone so it catches him off guard, but after he catches his cup of water before it spills all over his floor, he makes his way over to his front door. He wipes his hands on his shirt before pulling the door open.

“Hi.”

Mingyu sighs.

“Is Seokmin here?”

“No.” Mingyu replies, stepping aside to let Minghao in. “He went back to the house this morning.”

Minghao nods and then takes a tentative step forwards. It’s awkward; Mingyu doesn’t know what to do, so he just shuts the door and goes back into the kitchen to finish making his ramen. He hasn’t spoken to Minghao at all, really, since last weekend.

“I, uh…” Minghao begins. His voice is behind Mingyu, indicating that he’s followed the older into the kitchen. Mingyu acts like he’s paying him no attention as he sets his bowl into the microwave and punches in the numbers.

“I’m sorry.”

Mingyu sighs again.

“I didn’t...they did it to us last year, and I remember hating it so I don’t know why I thought you guys wouldn’t.” Minghao explains. “It’s tradition and I just went along with it, I know I shouldn’t have, I’m really sorry and I didn’t mean to scare you or hurt anyone.”

Minghao’s voice is watery, and when Mingyu turns around, there are tears in his best friend’s eyes. And Mingyu can’t  _ handle _ that, he can pretend that he hates Minghao all he wants but truth is, he doesn’t, not one bit, and the way Minghao’s bottom lip is trembling is killing him inside. He walks forward and wraps the younger up in his arms, burying his face in Minghao’s soft hair and squeezing him tight.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Mingyu whispers. “I forgive you.”

Minghao hiccups, and then turns his face into Mingyu’s neck. “I thought you hated me.”

Mingyu sighs. He’s disappointed in himself that he made Minghao think that. They’ve been best friends for forever; it’d be silly to let something like this ruin their friendship.

“I could never, Minghao.” Mingyu pulls back and pats down the hair that’s sticking up on Minghao’s head.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Mingyu nods. “I was just kind of disappointed, is all.”

“I won’t ever do something like that again.” Minghao shakes his head, his eyebrows furrowing. “I promise.”

Mingyu smiles. Minghao looks ten years younger like this. His eyes are a little red and his clothes are crumpled, and his face is kind of puffy. He reminds Mingyu of a five year old. Mingyu couldn’t hate him if he tried.

“Okay.” Mingyu sighs again, turning back to his microwave, which contains his now-cooked ramen. “Besides, now you have to take all of our shifts tonight.”

Mingyu grabs his bowl and turns around to face his best friend again, smirk evident on his face. Minghao rolls his eyes at him before plopping down into a chair at the table. Mingyu joins him, sitting across from the younger before digging into his phone.

“Don’t remind me. I have to be there from 7 pm until 4 am.”

Mingyu snickers. “You deserve it.”

“I know.” Minghao sighs. “So what are you going to do since you don’t have to help now?”

Mingyu shrugs. Honestly, he has no idea what he’s going to do now. The plan was to help put together to homecoming float all night, since the parade is in the morning, but now that he doesn’t have to participate, he’s got a free Friday night. The only thing that sucks is that  _ nobody, _ not a single person, is throwing a party, because everyone is helping with their own floats. Which means that he has to find something  _ less illegal _ and  _ more boring _ to do.

“Maybe I’ll just stay in.”

Minghao snorts. “Or you could come help us anyways.”

_ Mingyu _ snorts this time. There’s no way in  _ hell _ that he’s going to spend his night gluing pomp onto wooden boards.

Turns out, Minghao can’t stay for very long, so after Mingyu gets done with his ramen and they talk about the upcoming tailgate and parade, he leaves. He leaves on good terms though, and Mingyu shuts the door behind him feeling like he has his best friend back. It lifts the air and even though he wishes the events never took place, he’s no longer mad.

It’s 5 pm by the time Mingyu gets done washing his bowl. He has no homework, at least none that he knows of, and Vernon won’t text him back. Chan has been attached to Seokmin’s hip lately, and Seokmin is helping with the float even though he doesn’t have to, so Mingyu assumes that Chan is there too. Minghao is unavailable for the night and the only other person Mingyu would even want to hang out with is Wonwoo, so he sighs and digs his phone out of his sweatshirt pocket. He brings up the older’s contact and begins to type out a message.

 

**are you busy? <**

 

Wonwoo hasn’t texted him all day long, and after his awkward departure the night before, Mingyu expects him to take a couple of minutes to reply. He tosses his phone down onto his couch and then makes his way to his bathroom. 

When he gets back, there still isn’t a reply, but it shows that the message has been read. Mingyu scowls down at his phone before he types out another text.

 

**hello? <**

 

It’s read immediately, but the little dots don’t pop up, and Mingyu groans. He isn’t desperate, except he kind of is, so he clicks over to Jun’s contact and begins to text the older. 

 

**is wonwoo with you??? <**

**> ya, why? **

**can you tell him to text me back? he’s ignoring me??? <**

**> lol he’s mad at you**

 

Mingyu’s eyes bug out as he reads the text once, twice, three times over. He has no idea why Wonwoo would be  _ mad _ at him, he hasn’t done anything wrong. 

 

**what? why? what did i do??? <**

**> he said something about some girl last night you were flirting with idk**

 

Mingyu thinks long and hard about whatever  _ girl _ Wonwoo is talking about. He doesn’t talk to girls. Ever. He has, like, one girl friend, and she’s back home with her girlfriend. He’s kind of scared of girls, if he’s being honest, and-

_ Ashley. _

Mingyu about falls off of the couch laughing. He has to tap his phone three times in order to pull Wonwoo’s thread back up, because he’s laughing so hard that his hand is shaking.

 

**i can’t believe youre jealous <**

**ashley is just a friend of vernons and she doesnt know a lot of people in sigma chi yet so i said she could sit with us omg <**

**i dont like girls i told you this <**

**she told me we made a cute couple <**

 

Mingyu’s phone buzzes but when he looks down, he finds that Wonwoo hasn’t replied yet. Instead, it’s another text from Jun. 

 

**> lmaooooo his face is soooooooo red **

 

Mingyu laughs and goes back to Wonwoo’s thread. The little dots are pulsating in the bottom corner, so he patiently awaits the older’s reply. When it finally does pop up he bites back a smile and then reads the text, snorting at the end. 

 

**> shut up**

**> so you don’t like her?**

**no i like you you know this <**

 

Wonwoo doesn’t reply and Mingyu’s afraid he’s scared him away, until his phone starts ringing and Wonwoo’s contact picture pops up onto the screen. Mingyu grins and slides the accept button, before bringing the phone to his ear. 

“What? I’m kind of busy, flirting with my new girlfriend.”

There’s a pause, and then Wonwoo sighs.

“It’s not funny.”

“It’s kind of funny.” Mingyu admits. “Did you really think we were flirting?”

“Yes.” Wonwoo tells him, without wavering. “Anyways, what are you doing right now?”

“Wondering what you’re doing.” Mingyu smirks. “That’s how you flirt.”

“That’s not how you flirt, you dork.” Wonwoo chuckles a little, which has Mingyu’s grin widening. “I just got done eating with Jun, but I’m not doing anything the rest of the night, so do you want to hang out?”

“You’re not helping with the float?” Mingyu asks. Most of the Theta Phi guys have been enthusiastic about putting together the float, while the Kappa guys have barely helped. Mingyu kind of feels bad, but then doesn’t at the same time.

“No.” Wonwoo snorts. “That’s a freshmen and sophomore job.”

Apparently, that rule goes for all fraternities.  _ Poor sorority girls, _ Mingyu thinks.

“Well in that case, I’d love to hang out.” Mingyu is already up off the couch and trudging towards his room to get ready. “When and where?”

“I can pick you up in about 15 minutes?”

Mingyu hasn’t showered yet, and his hair is sticking up everywhere, but he can make it work. He agrees and then quickly hangs up with Wonwoo, heading straight for his bathroom to take a two minute shower.

Wonwoo wasn’t kidding about being at Mingyu’s apartment in 15 minutes, because as soon as Mingyu has pants on, his doorbell rings. He doesn’t have a shirt on and his hair is still dripping wet, but he makes his way out of his room anyways, not wanting to keep Wonwoo waiting.

When he pulls the front door open he finds Wonwoo standing there, staring at him, wearing a grey hoodie and black skinny jeans. He looks good. His slack jaw kind of kills it, though.

“Hey?” Mingyu says, stepping out of the way so that Wonwoo can come in. Wonwoo doesn’t move for approximately three seconds, and then he seems to clue in, and steps through the threshold.

“You’re not wearing a shirt.” Wonwoo’s face is flushed and he’s looking anywhere but at Mingyu. Mingyu smirks.

“Yeah, just got out of the shower.” He points to his couch. “You can sit down if you want. I just need to finish getting ready, it’ll only take a couple of minutes.”

Wonwoo doesn’t say anything, just nods and plants himself in the middle of the couch. Mingyu smiles at him and then walks back to his room to finish getting ready.

He finds a clean shirt in his closet, and then pulls it on, as well as a pair of socks and his grey Vans. He puts on deodorant and his hair is still dripping but he doesn’t have the time to style it, so instead he just runs it through a towel and then brushes it off of his forehead. He grabs his keys and wallet off of his nightstand before walking back out to the living room, where Wonwoo is still waiting, sitting almost as a statue on the couch.

“Ready.” he announces, which startles the older, causing him to jump from the couch. Mingyu laughs while Wonwoo clutches at his chest.

“You scared me.”

“Sorry.” Mingyu isn’t sorry at all, because Wonwoo is cute. “So, where are we headed?”

“I was going to ask you that, actually.” Wonwoo shrugs. “I hope you’re not hungry, because I just ate, and-”

“I’m not.” Mingyu cuts him off. Wonwoo has an awful habit of rambling when he doesn’t know what else to say. It’s endearing, but won’t get them anywhere. “I had ramen noodles not long ago.”

“Oh, good.” Wonwoo smiles. “So…”

Mingyu doesn’t know if this is supposed to be a date or not. He kind of assumes that it is, but still, he’s not sure what they should do.

“I mean, we could- Wait.” Mingyu smiles. “I know.”

“What?” Wonwoo asks, curious. His ears tinge the slightest shade of pink and Mingyu nearly  _ screams _ because he’s fucking adorable. Mingyu can’t handle it.  _ Shit. _

“It’s a surprise. Come on, I can drive.” Mingyu starts walking towards the front door and Wonwoo tries to protest behind him, but Mingyu just ignores him, and instead grabs his jacket before making his way out of his apartment. He waits for the older and then once they’re both out, he locks his front door, and then grabs Wonwoo’s hand. He tangles their fingers together and Wonwoo doesn’t even question it.

“Come on, tell me.” Wonwoo whines, tugging on Mingyu’s hand a little. Mingyu smirks and shakes his head ‘no’.

“No way. You’ll see when we get there.”

Their destination really isn’t all that far from campus. Mingyu had seen the place on a billboard a couple of days beforehand, and he didn’t think much of it at the time, but now he’s glad that he remembered the name. When they finally do get there, Mingyu pulls into the dirt parking lot, before turning to Wonwoo and finding him staring at him, his face void of any emotion.

“You took me to a pumpkin patch?”

“Yeah!” Mingyu says, shutting his car off and then climbing out of it. He waits for Wonwoo to do the same and then he meets him at the front of the car, before tangling their fingers together once again. Wonwoo still doesn’t protest.

“Why?”

“Because why not?” Mingyu tugs the older forward, towards where they have to pay to get in.

“Pumpkin patches are for little kids.”

“That’s a lie. Plus, this one has a  _ haunted corn maze.” _

Wonwoo rolls his eyes, though he smiles anyways. Mingyu grins back and then pulls Wonwoo the rest of the way to the entrance. He pays for the both of them when they get there, which causes Wonwoo to scold him, because  _ you paid for my sprite yesterday and now it’s my turn. _ Mingyu ignores him; it makes the other pout.

“Cheer up.” Mingyu teases as they make their way into the main area. For being later at night, it’s still pretty packed. “We can- oh, a petting zoo!”

Mingyu  _ was _ going to let Wonwoo pick what they do first, but then he sees goats. So, he pulls Wonwoo forward, and practically runs towards the animals pens, grinning the entire time.

“You’re a child.” Wonwoo tells him when they arrive. Mingyu ignores him as he bends down to pet the baby goats through the fence. He doesn’t let Wonwoo’s hand go, which forces the older to crouch down as well.

“Look, it’s smiling at us!” Mingyu points at a goat that’s really just staring at them. Wonwoo snorts and reaches through the fence to pet it. Mingyu watches him with a smile on his face the entire time.

They stay at the petting zoo for awhile. Mingyu gets to hold a baby goat, after one of the workers realizes how happy he is petting them. Wonwoo takes a lot of pictures on his phone and laughs the entire time, his nose scrunched up and looking cuter than any baby goat Mingyu comes across.

They feed alpacas. Mingyu calls them llamas until another worker, different from the goat one, corrects him. Wonwoo gets spit on and Mingyu cackles until Wonwoo pulls him to the bathroom, where he cleans up a little, and then splashes water on the younger.

“Where to now?” Mingyu asks once Wonwoo has dried his shirt under the automatic dryer. For a pumpkin patch, the place is surprisingly up-to-date.

Wonwoo shrugs. Their hands are still stuck together, and Mingyu has no intention of letting go anytime soon.

“How about the haunted maze?” Mingyu suggests. Wonwoo sighs and nods.

“Okay.”

“Do you not want to?” Wonwoo looks nervous, if anything. “We don’t have to, it’s fine.”

“No!” Wonwoo rushes to say, shaking his head. “I want to. I just...don’t usually do well in haunted houses, and it’s dark out and I’ve never been through a corn maze before, so…”

Mingyu smirks. He lets go of Wonwoo’s hand in order to throw his arm around the shorter’s shoulders, pulling him closer to his side.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

They make their way over to the entrance of the corn maze. There’s a short line, containing mostly teenagers and college students like them. They’re being let in a little at a time, which makes the line move slowly, but luckily there’s not too many groups ahead of them. Mingyu stations them at the back of the line, and doesn’t miss the way Wonwoo scooches closer to his side each time they step forward. When they’re one group away from being at the front, Wonwoo attaches himself to Mingyu’s waist shamelessly. Mingyu doesn’t tease him for it.

“Hi guys, couple of things before you go in.” the worker tells them before they’re let in the maze. Mingyu listens intently, because the last thing he wants to do is get kicked out for breaking the rules.

“No flashlights or phone lights. The maze is dimly lit so that you can see. No touching the characters. They won’t touch you. Only go through the openings, don’t force your way through the walls. Any questions?”

Both Mingyu and Wonwoo shakes their heads ‘no’. The worker smiles at them and then waves them forward. Mingyu moves, practically dragging Wonwoo with him, and then they’re off.

“See, this isn’t so bad.” Mingyu says as they walk forward. Nothing has jumped out at them yet, but Mingyu really can’t see a damn thing, so it could happen at any time. Wonwoo is on edge, too, because his fingers are digging into Mingyu’s side. Mingyu finds that he doesn’t mind at all.

The first scare comes a few steps later. A gory scarecrow jumps out in front of them and yells in their faces. Neither of them yell back, Mingyu just subconsciously steps backwards while Wonwoo digs his face into Mingyu’s chest. Once they’re composed, they continue on, except Wonwoo clutches onto Mingyu’s shirt even tighter. 

Mingyu had figured that since the maze is  _ haunted, _ it would be easier to navigate. That isn’t the case, though. Every time they turn they come up on a corn wall, or another scare that causes Wonwoo to whimper even louder. By this point Mingyu has both arms wrapped around the older, and is deciding the way for the both of them, because Wonwoo won’t look up.

“I didn’t peg you as the type to get scared by this kind of stuff.” Mingyu admits as they finally find an opening, which lets them progress through the maze. Wonwoo shrugs in his arms.

“Sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize. It’s -  _ shit!” _ A fake corn stalk prop drops in front of them and then a pumpkin-masked man jumps out, dropping at their feet. Mingyu screeches and jumps back, clutching Wonwoo closer on instinct. The man doesn’t move so Mingyu has to maneuver around him. They make is past him and then scurry down the path, finding another opening in the maze.

“You owe me after this.” Wonwoo mutters into Mingyu’s shirt. Mingyu sighs and smiles.

“Yeah, whatever you want.” he tells the older, running a hand through his hair where it’s matted against his shirt. He hopes they’re getting close to the end because Wonwoo isn’t having any fun, which means that Mingyu isn’t, either.

Mingyu thinks they’ve found the end when he sees a large light, but in the end it’s just another scare. By this point Wonwoo is practically a koala around Mingyu, and Mingyu is so lost it isn’t even funny. They’re about to continue when a chainsaw sounds in the distance.

“Oh, fuck no.” Wonwoo lifts his head for the first time and stares up at Mingyu, eyes wide and terrified. It’s kind of funny because it  _ is _ just a haunted corn maze, but it also isn’t because he looks genuinely upset.

“Get on my back.” Mingyu decides, turning around so that his back is facing Wonwoo. He crouches down and Wonwoo doesn’t even hesitate before he climbs on. “That way I can just run past whatever else is out there so we can get done quicker.”

Wonwoo isn’t as heavy as Mingyu had been expecting. Mingyu has seen him naked enough times to know that he’s lean but lithe, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but still. They make it through the maze quicker like that, with Wonwoo wrapped around Mingyu’s taller frame, his face buried in Mingyu’s neck as Mingyu practically sprints through the rest of it.

When they finally do make it to the end, Wonwoo drops off of Mingyu’s back, wobbly, and then stares at the ground, his face bright red.

“That was embarrassing.”

Mingyu grins. “You’re cute.” He doesn’t say anything else as he steps forward and pulls Wonwoo into his arms, bear hugging him against his chest. Wonwoo practically melts as he hugs him back.

After they pull apart they make their way back to the main part of the pumpkin patch, though Mingyu doesn’t miss the opportunity to tangle their fingers together again. Wonwoo, again, doesn’t protest, and instead just allows himself to be drug to the entrance of the actual pumpkin patch.

“We can pick out one pumpkin each.” Mingyu explains, pointing to all of their options. “And then we can paint or carve them.” He points over to a batch of picnic tables littered with paint bottles, brushes, and carving tools.

Wonwoo just nods and smiles, and then starts walking forward, taking Mingyu with him.

“We should get small pumpkins so we can keep them in our rooms, and also so we don’t have to carry anything heavy.” Wonwoo explains. Mingyu agrees, but only because it’s Wonwoo who had suggested it. So, they make their way over to where all of the small pumpkins are, and then begin picking through them.

Wonwoo finds a tiny white pumpkin that he snatches up immediately. Mingyu finds a slightly larger, orange one. Once they’re happy with their selections Wonwoo leads them over to a picnic table, where they sit down across from each other.

“I’m going to paint mine.” Mingyu announces, reaching for the first paintbrush he finds.

“Me too.” Wonwoo tells him. “I don’t like the smell of the pumpkin guts.”

Mingyu grins at him and then they get to work, silent for the most part save for when they try to flick paint on each other. In the end, both of them have paint up their arms, as well as  _ masterpieces _ that the other has yet to see.  

“You first.” Mingyu points to Wonwoo’s pumpkin, which, even though it’s significantly smaller than his, had taken more time to paint. Wonwoo smiles and nods before turning it around to face the younger.

It’s a cartoon face of a jackolantern. It’s way more artistic than Mingyu’s, and actually looks like something worthy of a picture.

“It’s cute.” Mingyu tells the older. “Like you.”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes. “Stop trying to be all flirty.”

“Do you know where I learned my skills?” Mingyu sets his paintbrush down and he’s not looking at Wonwoo but he just knows the older is glaring at him. “Ashley.”

“You’re not funny.” Wonwoo tells him, though he snorts a little. “Show me yours.”

Mingyu’s grin widens as he turns his pumpkin around. It’s a mess of colors; red, blue, purple, yellow. In the center there’s a giant green heart, with a ‘M+W’ in the middle of it. Wonwoo stares at it in horror.

“You’re…”

“I’m?” Mingyu teases. Wonwoo looks up at him with a red face and neck.

“Cheesy.”

Mingyu just smiles bigger.

Their pumpkins dry pretty quick, so they don’t have to sit around and wait for much longer. They’ve hit pretty much every major event or activity at the facility, so they make the collective decision to head out. Mingyu hadn’t realized that three hours had passed, so by the time they’re walking out of the pumpkin patch, hand in hand, it’s going on 9:30.

Once they’re in the car and buckled, Mingyu turns to Wonwoo, who’s holding both of their pumpkins and looking up at Mingyu expectantly. It’s adorable and Mingyu wants to snap a picture, but he’s afraid of being  _ too _ much, so instead he just asks Wonwoo where he wants to go next.

Wonwoo shrugs. “I don’t care.”

“You’re full of ideas tonight.” Mingyu jokes. He turns on the car and throws it into reverse. “Want to head back to my apartment? I’m kind of cold, and I have hot chocolate we can make.”

Wonwoo just smiles and nods, which is enough for Mingyu, so he heads towards his apartment without another word.

When they arrive they both get out of the car and walk up the stairs side by side, Wonwoo holding both of the pumpkins while Mingyu fumbles with his keys. He finds the right one and unlocks the front door when they get there, letting Wonwoo walk in first so that he can shut and lock the door behind them.

“You can set the pumpkins down on the table.” he tells the older while he toes his shoes off. Wonwoo nods and does as told, before he toes his own shoes off and sets them down next to Mingyu’s. Mingyu smiles at him and then walks into his kitchen, where he pulls all of the ingredients to make hot chocolate out and sets them down on the countertop.

“Oh, we’re making real hot chocolate?” Wonwoo asks. He looks clueless, like a deer caught in the headlights. Mingyu snorts.

“Yeah. The boxed kind tastes like shit.” he explains. Wonwoo just nods, though he still looks helpless, eyeing the chocolate bars like they might actually eat him. “You can watch.”

“Okay.” Wonwoo nods and then leans up against the countertop, watching as Mingyu pulls out a frying pan and a spatula. Mingyu sets the frying pan down on a burner and then turns on the stove to its lowest setting. He pours in some milk, and then half-and-half. Wonwoo watches intently the entire time.

Mingyu turns to the older while he waits for the liquid to warm up. He steps closer to him, which cause Wonwoo lean up against the counter with his back. Mingyu brackets him in with his arms.

“I had fun.” Mingyu tells him, quietly. Wonwoo smiles a small smile and nods.

“Me too.”

“Yeah?” Wonwoo nods again. They’re close, and Mingyu sees this as his chance, so he leans in slowly and captures the older’s lips with his own. He kisses him, softly, bringing up a hand to cup his cheek. Wonwoo stays put with his hands bracing himself on the countertop, leaning backwards a little while he tilts his head. They stay like that until Wonwoo pulls away with a smile, their noses still touching.

“Please don’t burn my hot chocolate.” he whispers against Mingyu’s lips. Mingyu laughs and pulls away from the older, going back to the frying pan so that he can continue to make their drink. He gets halfway done when he feels a pair of arms wrap around his waist, and then a chin drops down on his shoulder.

“Hi.” he chuckles, adding more chocolate chunks to the pan.

“Hey.” Wonwoo says back, nuzzling his face into Mingyu’s neck.

“You’re awfully touchy today.”

“I’m happy.” Wonwoo admits. Mingyu’s heart stalls for about 10 seconds, and then he shakes himself out of his trance,  _ giggling _ quietly while he stirs the hot chocolate.

“Yeah?”

Wonwoo nods.

Mingyu finishes shortly after that, pouring an equal amount of the hot liquid into two separate mugs before handing one to Wonwoo and turning the stove off. He leaves all of the dishes still strewn out; he can clean later.

“Couch or bed?” he asks Wonwoo, because all he really wants to do is cuddle.

“Mm, bed.” Wonwoo tells him, sipping at his hot chocolate. He pulls back with a smile plastered across his face. “This is way better than box hot chocolate.”

“Told you.” Mingyu snickers. He grabs Wonwoo’s hand and begins to tug him towards his room. Once there, he bypasses all of the mess and heads straight for his bed, setting his mug down on his nightstand before plopping down on the mattress. He takes Wonwoo’s mug and sets it down next to his own, and then tugs the older down so that he’s sprawled out across him. They both laugh.

“Thanks.” Wonwoo says sarcastically, rolling over so that he’s on his back and facing the ceiling. Mingyu drags his comforter over the both of them and then hands Wonwoo his mug again, before taking his own and taking a sip of the drink.

_ He can make some pretty damn good hot chocolate. _

“I wonder how they’re doing with building the float.” Wonwoo asks out loud after he’s taken another drink of his hot chocolate. Mingyu shrugs; he had honestly forgotten all about that.

“Did anyone else stay to help?” Mingyu asks Wonwoo, referring to the rest of the group. Wonwoo smirks as he sits up in the bed. He leans against Mingyu, who’s already leaning against the headrest.

“I’m the only one that skipped out.” he explains, chuckling lightly. “It was worth it though.”

“I’m glad.” Mingyu mumbles. He’s had a lot of fun, despite spending half the night in a haunted maze with a terrified Wonwoo. Just having Wonwoo by his side, scared or not, makes everything significantly better.

“Me too.” Wonwoo whispers. He finishes off his hot chocolate, even though Mingyu still has half of his left, and then reaches across the younger so that he can set the mug back down on the nightstand. Mingyu sets his down as well, but only because he’d rather wrap Wonwoo up in his arms. Which he does, without much of a complaint from the other. They both settle back against the headboard, the comforter pulled up to their chins, reveling in each other’s body heat.

“Hey, Wonwoo?” Mingyu says after a few moments of comfortable silence. He looks down and brushes a few strands of hair out of the older’s eyes, before continuing. “Yesterday you said you wanted to ask me something, but never did.”

“Oh, yeah.” Wonwoo blushes, it’s obvious.

“You didn’t ask me because of Ashley, right?” Mingyu snickers when Wonwoo hides his face in his chest. “What was it?”

“It’s stupid.” Wonwoo mutters, his words muffled by Mingyu’s sweatshirt.

“I’m sure it’s not.” Mingyu prompts. He smiles down at the mop of hair he can only see.

Wonwoo lets out a deep breath. “You don’t have to. I just, you know, thought I’d ask-”

“I don’t have all day.” Mingyu jokes. Truth is, he’d wait an eternity for Wonwoo. He won’t admit that out loud though.

“Our formal is the first weekend in December. We got to Memphis every year and I was...wondering...if you, uh…”

“Yes.” Mingyu answers on impulse, his grin widening. Wonwoo lets out another huff of air, almost as if he’s relieved.

“You don’t have to worry about paying anything. Most of the time dates usually make coolers but you don’t have to if-”

“No, I want to.” Mingyu says, cutting the older off once again. Minghao took a girl from his biology class to Kappa’s formal last year, and she had made him a cooler, because it’s tradition. Mingyu had thought that that was  _ fun. _ He’s always wanted to make one himself.

“Okay.” Wonwoo finally looks up at Mingyu, his cheeks tinted pink. Mingyu can’t help himself; the older just looks perfect, wrapped up in his arms, his hair disheveled, his eyes hooded with sleep. He leans down and kisses Wonwoo, sighing into it when Wonwoo leans up.

“I’m excited now.” Mingyu whispers against his lips, which causes Wonwoo to laugh.

“It’s nothing special. All of the fraternities do it.”

“Yeah, but it’s with you.” Mingyu realizes he’s being incredibly  _ greasy, _ but he doesn’t care. He  _ really _ fucking likes Wonwoo.  

“Okay.” Wonwoo laughs again, and then shimmies down so that he’s laying down on the mattress. Mingyu follows him, clutching him close to his chest the entire way so contact isn’t lost.

“Does this mean I can call you my boyfriend now?” Mingyu asks. He’s joking, but not really. They just went on a freaking date to the  _ pumpkin patch, _ for God’s sake.

“Mm.” Wonwoo hums, his eyes already closed. It’s only around 10:30, but they’re both tired. “We’re getting closer.”

Mingyu laughs and just pulls Wonwoo closer to him, placing a kiss on the older’s forehead. 


	11. Chapter 11

Mingyu rolls over, and the only reason he wakes up is because he hits something solid and warm. He blinks his eyes open immediately and comes face to face,  _ literally, _ with Wonwoo. The older is still asleep, his hair everywhere, his mouth parted slightly. Mingyu smiles and turns all the way over so that he’s facing the boy straight on. He grabs his phone from under his pillow, checking the time before he sets it behind him on his nightstand and turns back to Wonwoo. It’s 7:00 am; they have to be at the parade by 8:30. 

“Hey.” he whispers, his face close to the other’s. He brings his hand up and brushes the bangs from Wonwoo’s forehead, revealing his pale skin. Wonwoo doesn’t budge.

“Wonwoo.” Mingyu whispers, this time louder. Wonwoo stirs, but in the end just buries his face into the pillow and groans. Mingyu smiles.

“Hey, we have to get up.” Technically, they don’t  _ have _ to get up, but Mingyu needs to shower and he kind of wants Wonwoo to join him.

“No.” Wonwoo grumbles out, turning onto his stomach and smushing his face completely into the pillow. Mingyu laughs at him, quietly, as he threads his fingers through the hair at the nape of Wonwoo’s neck.

“I was going to take a shower, if you want to join me.”

Wonwoo tenses under Mingyu’s grip. Mingyu continues to brush through his hair, untangling the knots at the ends of the strands. They lay like that for what feels like an eternity.

“Stop doing that.” Wonwoo mumbles, turning back over so that he’s facing Mingyu again. “You’re going to make me fall back asleep.”

“Sorry.” Mingyu chuckles. “Come on, we can get ready, and then we can grab some breakfast before we go to the parade.”

Mingyu stands up from his bed, yawning and stretching his arms above his head. Wonwoo doesn’t move for awhile, and Mingyu just stands there and stares at him, because he’s nice to look at. Finally Wonwoo does move, though, climbing off of the bed slowly and rubbing at his eyes.

“I don’t have any clothes.”

“That’s okay, I can find something for you.” Mingyu tells him. Wonwoo walks around the bed and nods, before he stops right in front of Mingyu. Mingyu grins down at him and then wraps his arms around the older.

“Good morning, by the way.”

“Yeah.” Wonwoo mumbles into his shirt. He doesn’t hug Mingyu back, just melts into the younger’s arms, which is good enough for Mingyu. Eventually he pulls back and Mingyu reaches down to tangle their fingers together, before pulling Wonwoo through the hallway and to the bathroom.

Once there, Mingyu lets go of Wonwoo’s hand, and grabs two towels out from underneath the sink before turning on the water. He then turns to Wonwoo, grinning.

Wonwoo smiles back before he tugs his shirt off, and then his jeans, since they had fallen asleep in their clothes from the night before. Mingyu does the same and soon they’re both left in their boxers.

“You’ve seen my naked enough times.” Mingyu shrugs before he tugs his off, flipping them into the pile with the rest of their clothes by the door. Wonwoo flushes but eventually does the same. As soon as his boxers hit the pile on the ground, he turns around and climbs into the shower, leaving the door open so that Mingyu can follow him. Mingyu does so, shutting the door behind him before he pushes the older up against the wall of the shower. He brackets Wonwoo in with his forearms, and smirks down at him.

“Hey.”

“Well, geez.” Wonwoo laughs, his face flushing, though he doesn’t protest. “Hi.”

“You’re hot.”

“So I’ve been told.” Wonwoo jokes. Mingyu ignores the sarcasm and dips down to kiss him, leaning on one forearm while he cups the older’s chin with his other hand. Wonwoo sighs into it as he brings his own hand up, tangling his fingers into the hair at the base of Mingyu’s neck.

“I thought we were just going to get ready?” Wonwoo asks against Mingyu’s lips once he comes up for a breath. Mingyu shakes his head slightly and then moves to mouth at Wonwoo’s jaw. “What happened to breakfast?”

“I’ll buy you a donut at the gas station or something.” Mingyu mutters, moving to Wonwoo’s neck, working at the soft spot right beneath his ear. Wonwoo sighs and tilts his head to the side, allowing for more access for Mingyu. They stay like that until Mingyu feels a hand run down his torso, which eventually ends up grabbing his dick.

“Oh.” he says in surprise, pulling back. He finds Wonwoo smirking at him. He isn’t hard yet, but  _ oh boy, _ he’s getting there.

“Mm.” Wonwoo hums, pumping his hand up and down slowly. Mingyu lolls his head back and brackets Wonwoo in again with his other arm for support. “Can I suck you off?”

“Yeah.” Mingyu chokes out, nodding enthusiastically. Wonwoo grins and places a small kiss on the corner of his mouth before he crouches down on his knees, hand still on Mingyu. He doesn’t do anything, though, and Mingyu’s wondering if something is wrong, so he looks down at the older.

Wonwoo is staring up at him, his wet hair plastered to his forehead, his face beaming. He looks like an  _ entire _ snack,  _ jesus christ, _ Mingyu has never used that term before but he finds it fitting. He grins down at the other.

“You gonna do something?” he asks. Wonwoo doesn’t reply, just leans forward and licks a strip up the bottom of Mingyu’s dick, before taking him fully into his mouth all at once. Mingyu nearly falls on his ass.

“‘Kay.” he manages, letting his head fall back again. He has one hand still on the wall, so he can support himself when his knees buckle, while the other instinctively goes to Wonwoo’s hair. He tangles his fingers in it and moans, letting out a sound that he should be embarrassed by though he can’t find it within himself to care.

Wonwoo bobs up and down, slowly, before gradually picking up speed, and leaving Mingyu breathless. Mingyu keeps his hand in the other’s hair and doesn’t realize he’s pulling on it until Wonwoo pulls back and looks up at him.

“I haven’t done this before.” Wonwoo mumbles, and Mingyu’s just glad he doesn’t care about his hair. He is, though, a little taken aback, so he pulls his hand away anyways and stares down at the older.

“Really?”

Wonwoo nods. He has his hand still on the base of Mingyu’s dick, and Mingyu needs him to keep going  _ right the fuck now, _ so he sighs and leans his head against the shower wall.

“Well, you’re doing great, babe, keep going.” he breathes out, and Wonwoo smirks up at him, before getting back to work.

It doesn’t take much longer after that for Mingyu to come. He hasn’t done anything but jack off since the last time he had sex with Wonwoo, so he’s kind of been touch starved. Once he’s gotten off, all over Wonwoo’s face, Wonwoo stands back up in front of Mingyu and grins. He stares at the younger, straight on, and Mingyu is about to apologize for  _ coming all over his fucking face _ but then Wonwoo runs a finger down his cheek, sticks it in his mouth, and  _ smirks. _

“Salty.” he says, before he washes the rest off with the stream of water. Mingyu gapes at him. When the older turns back to face him, Mingyu pulls him into a heated kiss, and pushes him back up against the wall roughly.

It doesn’t take much for Wonwoo to get off, either. All Mingyu has to do is reach down and jerk him off for a couple of minutes. It isn’t the most romantic of things, but it works, and in the end they’re both happy.

“Good morning indeed.” Mingyu mumbles as he wraps his arms around Wonwoo’s torso when they’re done rinsing themselves off. The older’s back is pressed against his front, as they both stand under the stream of the shower. Wonwoo chuckles and reaches down to grab Mingyu’s shampoo bottle.

“We should probably actually clean up now. Don’t want to be late.”

“Mm, I think we should just go back to bed.” Mingyu mutters. Wonwoo scoffs and shakes his head.

“No way. You drug me out of bed for this.”

“But was it worth it?” Mingyu jokes, although there is a hint of sincerity to his voice. Wonwoo turns around and grins up at him, before nodding shyly.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes and turns back around, holding the shampoo bottle behind his head.

“Wash my hair.”

And Mingyu does. He runs the suds through Wonwoo’s hair with his fingers, and then proceeds to do the same with his body, before Wonwoo returns the favor. They only get distracted once, or maybe twice, but Mingyu doesn’t count the second time because Wonwoo pushes him away as he laughs into his shoulder. In the end they don’t spend  _ that _ much time in the shower, and by the time they step out onto the floormat the water isn’t even cold.

“Here.” Mingyu grabs one of the towels off of the sink countertop and hands it to Wonwoo, who wraps it around his shoulders immediately. He’s so  _ small _ that the large towel engulfs him, whereas for Mingyu, he can only wrap it around his waist.

They walk back to Mingyu’s room, huddled together to keep in the heat, in search for some clothes. Mingyu deposits all of their dirty ones in his hamper, and tells himself that he’ll just have to give Wonwoo’s back when they’re cleaned. He then makes his way over to his closet and pulls the doors open, peeking inside to find something for the both of them.

“I think my jeans might be all too big for you…” Mingyu says aloud, grimacing down at the stack of pants he has on a shelf. He turns around to face Wonwoo. “Are sweatpants okay?”

Wonwoo shrugs. Mingyu nods and turns back to his closet, thumbing through his sweatpants until he finds his smallest grey pair. He pulls them out and hands them to Wonwoo.

“I can get you some boxers, if-”

“I don’t need them.” Wonwoo says. He’s already pulling the sweatpants on and Mingyu groans because this kid is trying to  _ kill _ him. He voices this to the older, and Wonwoo just chuckles, standing there shirtless,  _ boxerless, _ and in Mingyu’s pants.

Mingyu finds him a sweatshirt after that, forgoing any kind of undershirt, because it’s cold out and Wonwoo tells him he won’t take the sweatshirt off anyways. After the older has pulled the sweatshirt on he turns to Mingyu and gestures in a kind of ‘how do I look’ way, which has Mingyu smirking down at him.

“You’re making it harder for me to want to leave.” The sweatshirt is way too big on Wonwoo, and Mingyu can’t decide if he’s adorable like that, or hot, or both.

“Too bad. We have to be there in 20 minutes, so get dressed.”

Mingyu sighs but turns back to his closet, pulling out a pair of jeans and another sweatshirt for himself. He pulls them on quickly and then grabs socks for the both of them, throwing one pair to Wonwoo before picking out a pair of shoes.

By the time they actually do leave the apartment, they have 9 minutes to get to the parade. They can’t drive, either, because there won’t be any parking available due to the large crowd. So, Mingyu grabs Wonwoo’s hand, and they begin the trek to campus. He doesn’t live  _ that _ far away, but they’re definitely going to be late.

“You have to pay my fine if we’re late.” Wonwoo tells Mingyu as they’re walking out of the parking lot. He shivers and Mingyu pulls him closer, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

“Sure.”

“Also, you haven’t fed me yet.”

“Demanding.” Mingyu chuckles. “We can get something to eat afterwards. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Wonwoo laughs. “We’ll eat at the tailgate, anyways.”

_ Ah yes, _ Mingyu had almost forgotten about the tailgate. Arguably the most anticipated event of Homecoming week. He didn’t go last year, but that’s only because he had slept through it.

This year, Kappa is tailgating with Theta. Usually each fraternity has their own tent, and does their own thing, but since they’re paired together they decided to share a tent. Which means that Mingyu gets to spend the  _ entire _ day with Wonwoo, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t excited.  

They get to campus after about 10 minutes, which means their late, but neither of them are really in a hurry. Even Wonwoo, despite the threat of a fine. Mingyu doesn’t know if he’ll get fined, but he makes his way through the crowds slowly anyways, because they’re still on all of the high school bands. The only reason they have to come is to see their float, and that won’t pass by for awhile, so there’s no rush.

Mingyu has no idea where their team is standing, but apparently Wonwoo does, because he takes the lead and pulls Mingyu over to the curb across the street from where they are. That’s when Mingyu sees the rest of their group sitting behind all of the sorority ladies, who are sitting on the curb, clapping for all of the people that pass by in the parade.

“Took you guys long enough!” Vernon shouts when he spots the two of them. He’s standing next to Seungkwan, who’s wrapped in a large blanket and looks miserable. Jihoon is on his other side, looking up at Soonyoung with an annoyed expression written across his face. Mingyu briefly wonders how they work.

“Woke up late.” Mingyu lies. He notices that his hand is still tangled with Wonwoo’s, and he’s about to pull away because he’s still not sure if Wonwoo is okay with  _ that, _ but then Wonwoo tugs him forward so that they’re standing next to Jun. The older huddles himself into Mingyu’s side and starts talking to his friend, leaving Mingyu to turn back to Vernon, who has an eyebrow raised at him.

“When did that happen?”

Mingyu’s forgotten that really the only one who knows about him and Wonwoo, to an extent, is Minghao. He shrugs.

“Are you guys dating?”

“No.” Mingyu answers. Vernon rolls his eyes.

“Sure.”

“We aren’t.”

“Whatever.” Vernon drops it. “So I went to help last night, because Seungkwan was there, and guess what? He made me fucking stay until the thing was done. We haven’t slept yet, the float didn’t get finished until 7 this morning.”

Vernon starts in on a story about how he’ll now have nightmares about pomp for the rest of his life, because he had glued so much onto the float the night before. He tells Mingyu all about their struggles with putting the thing together, how one kid fell off of a ladder, how a couple of the sorority girls cried from the stress of getting it finished (and maybe Joshua a little, too). He only stops talking when the greek life floats start passing by, followed by groups of kids in costumes that match their themes.

Mingyu has no idea what their theme is. All he knows is that the few times he had helped to pomp, he had rolled blue and black pieces of paper. He figures that the overall theme must be something Disney related, though, because all of the floats that have passed by so far have been themed that way. He’s seen plenty of princess themes, enough to last him a lifetime probably.

Suddenly, though, all of the girls in front of them start screaming and cheering, causing Mingyu to startle out of his thoughts. He looks up and sees a rather large float coming their way, which he assumes is theirs, because one of the girls in front of him takes pictures of it.

He has to admit, it looks good. It’s  _ Nemo _ themed and it looks like everyone put a ton of work into. He kind of feels bad because he didn’t help at all, but then again, spending the night with Wonwoo was  _ way _ more fun. He wouldn’t trade that for the world.

“Ah, I’m so glad it stayed together.” Mingyu hears Seungcheol say, who’s a few feet away from him, standing with Jeonghan, Soonyoung, Jihoon and Joshua. Joshua and Jihoon don’t look as pissed, so Mingyu assumes that things have been resolved. Although, Jihoon still looks annoyed with his boyfriend; that might have something to do with the fact that Soonyoung has his arms wrapped around him and is swaying with him, though.

Their float is one of the last floats to pass. After the greek floats, there isn’t anything else in the parade, so people start picking their stuff up so that they can leave. Mingyu watches as Soonyoung and Seokmin haul their letters away; they’re both laughing with each other, and Mingyu is glad that things are better, because he kind of misses everyone being together.

Speaking of everyone, he hasn’t seen Minghao. He’s about to go ask Vernon, who’s now standing further away while he talks to Chan, where his best friend is, but then someone taps him on the shoulder. Wonwoo is still attached to his side so it’s kind of hard for him to whip around, but he does his best, and finds himself staring down at Ashley.

“Hey!” she greets, a big grin plastered across her face. Mingyu smiles back.

“Hey.”

“I didn’t see you last night. Vernon said you guys didn’t have to come, but he was still there.”

Mingyu bites at his lip. He figures that if Wonwoo is willing to  _ literally _ tangle himself around him in public, he won’t mind if Mingyu tells people about their date.

“Yeah. I was out with Wonwoo.”

Ashley smirks. Mingyu sighs.

“Where’d you guys go?”

“The pumpkin patch.” Mingyu tells her, his face heating up. He’s not sure why it does that.

“You’re so dating.” Ashley laughs. “That such a boyfriend thing to do. Did you pay for him and everything?”

Mingyu doesn’t reply, which is an answer in itself. Ashley all but cackles, basically.

“I wish someone would take me on a date to the pumpkin patch.” Ashley sighs, and then points to a group of girls behind her, who look like they’re waiting for her. “I have to head out, we’re going to get brunch. I’ll see you at the tailgate though, right? You won’t skip out this time?”

“No, I’ll be there.” Mingyu replies, smiling. Ashley nods and then gives him a little wave, before she turns around and heads off with her friends. Once out of sight, Mingyu turns back to Wonwoo, and finds the older wrapping up his conversation with Jun. They’re talking about the tailgate, is what Mingyu catches.

“Okay, yeah, I’ll just text you when I’m here so you can help me lug the stuff to the tent.” Jun says. Wonwoo nods, and then they exchange goodbyes, before Jun walks away with Joshua in tow. Mingyu furrows his eyebrows in question when Wonwoo turns to face him.

“I have to help carry all the food to the tent.” he explains. Mingyu ‘ahs’. “I need to go back to the house and change. We’re supposed to wear our letters.”

Mingyu thinks Kappa has to as well. He remembers reading that in an email somewhere.

“Okay.” he smiles. “Are you walking back?” The Theta Phi house is on the next street over, Mingyu would assume that Wonwoo would walk. Luckily for him, it’s also on his way back to his apartment.

“Yeah.”

“Cool. I’ll walk you back.”

They don’t hold hands on the walk back. Instead, they just walk shoulder to shoulder, occasionally brushing up against each other. Neither of them say anything either; it’s a comfortable silence. There are people milling about from the parade, so they aren’t alone, and by the time they get to the front lawn of the house, it’s only been about 5 minutes.

“I’ll see you at the tailgate.” Wonwoo says when they stop in front of the front door, because Mingyu was not about to make him walk up to it alone.

“Yeah.” Mingyu nods. He expects to just leave after that, maybe offer a wave or something, but then suddenly Wonwoo steps forward and wraps his arms around Mingyu’s torso.

“Thanks. I had fun.” he mumbles into Mingyu’s sweatshirt. Mingyu smiles down at him before he wraps his own arms around the older’s shoulders. He practically bear hugs him, squeezing him tightly to his chest. Wonwoo laughs.

They pull back from each other and then offer their own wave of sorts, before Wonwoo pushes the door open to the house and steps inside. Mingyu waits until the door is closed before he steps off of the porch and begins the trek back to his apartment.

He doesn’t make it, though. Instead, he only makes it a few yards down the street, until someone yells his name. He turns around and finds Minghao walking towards him, coming from the direction of the parade. Mingyu stops and waits for the younger to catch up to him.

“What’s up?” Minghao asks. He looks like he hasn’t slept yet; Mingyu wonders if he, like Vernon, had stayed to help with the float all night.

Mingyu shrugs. “Just heading back to the apartment to change.”

“Why?”

“We’re supposed wear our letters, right?”

Minghao rolls his eyes, and then grabs Mingyu’s arm and starts tugging him towards the Kappa house. Mingyu hadn’t noticed that they were standing in front of it.

“You can just borrow one of my sweatshirts.”

Minghao is significantly smaller than Mingyu, so Mingyu isn’t sure how that’s going to work, but he goes along with it. He doesn’t really want to walk all the way back to his apartment just to come back to campus, anyways.

“Hey, were you at the parade?” Mingyu asks then, once they’re on the front porch and Minghao has let go of his arm. The younger turns and gives him a weird look, before unlocking the front door and walking through the threshold.

“Yeah?” he then smirks, and Mingyu sighs. “You were too busy fawning over Wonwoo. I was standing next to Jeonghan.”

Mingyu really hadn’t noticed him. He feels bad for a split second, but then he realizes that Minghao is still smirking at him, so the guilt vanishes rather quickly.

“I wasn’t fawning over him.”

“You were.” Minghao snorts. “Anyways, what did you end up doing last night?”

Mingyu purses his lips together. Minghao is going to laugh at him, he knows it. Apparently, his silence is enough of an answer.

“You hung out with him, didn’t you?” he asks. Mingyu nods slowly. They’re in the house now, walking up the stairs to get to Minghao’s room. “What, are you guys dating now?”

“No.” Mingyu tells him. Minghao gives him a pointed look. “Swear on it.”

“Why not?” Minghao doesn’t sound like he’s teasing Mingyu anymore. Mingyu waits until they’re in the room to answer, shutting the door behind him and noting that Minghao’s roommate’s stuff is  _ not there. _

“Where’s your roommate?”

“Got terminated last week. Stop changing the subject.”

Mingyu sighs and sits down on the now empty bed, leaning back against the wall with his neck bent at an odd angle. It doesn't hurt, so he doesn’t move.

“He doesn’t want to date.”

“You guys literally go on dates though? And I saw you guys at the Theta house, and he was like, curled up against you at the parade. It’s not like he’s trying to hide it anymore.”

Mingyu nods. Minghao’s just stating the obvious, now; Mingyu knows this. Honestly, the fact that Wonwoo won’t label  _ whatever they are _ doesn’t bother him, because in the end, it won’t really change anything. Maybe Mingyu will get to like, kiss him in public, but he guesses that the rest would be the same.

“He asked me to go to his formal with him.”

Minghao snorts.

“I don’t know what to tell you, man. Maybe he just has commitment issues.”

That’s a plausible idea. Still, Mingyu doesn’t think much on it.

“Yeah.” Mingyu sighs. Minghao snorts and then turns to his closet, where he sorts through his sweatshirts. He grabs one, throws it to Mingyu, and then tugs on down from the hangers for himself.

“I talked to Jun.”

“Oh, yes, let’s talk about your love life now.” Mingyu pulls his current sweatshirt over his head and then slips Minghao’s on. It has large Kappa letters on the front of it, and surprisingly, it isn’t too small for him. “How did that go?”

Minghao shrugs. “He was mad at me, but I told him everything I told you and I think we’re better now.”

“Better? As in, like…”

“He doesn’t glare at me when he sees me anymore.”

Mingyu feels a little bad, because had it not been for him, Jun would have never known about the hazing ritual. Which, no, that’s a lie because he likely would have found out from Jihoon, or Joshua, but still. Mingyu kind of hates that he indirectly messed this up for Minghao, even though it was mostly Minghao’s doing. He just wants his best friend to be happy, really, and he’s positive that would have happened with Jun in the picture.

“I’m sorry.” Mingyu begins. Minghao rolls his eyes at him.

“It was my fault, don’t be sorry. I think we’ll be okay, though.”

“That’s good.”

Minghao just shrugs. Mingyu decides to drop it; he can tell that Minghao doesn’t really want to talk about it anymore.

“Oh, hey.” the younger plops down on his bed and then points to the empty side of the room where Mingyu is. “Seungcheol is looking for someone to fill the room. We have another empty spot, too, I think Chan is going to take it. You should move in.”

“Can Chan even move in? He’s a freshman.” Mingyu asks. Minghao shrugs and then nods.

“I think so. He brought in enough credits from high school to be able to move out of the dorms.”

Mingyu ‘hms’. Technically, he could move out of his apartment if he wanted to. He leases it by semester, and he hasn’t renewed it for the upcoming spring semester yet. There are a lot of upsides to living in the house; he’d be more involved, he’d be closer to the campus, he’d always have someone to do stuff with. He’d lose his privacy, though, but that’s never been much of a problem for him.

“It’d be like last year.” Minghao offers. Mingyu scoffs, but only because he had been sexiled more times than not on the weekends last year. Minghao knows this; it’s why he’s smirking.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Okay.” Minghao sighs and stands up from his bed. “We should probably get going, they need help setting up.”

Mingyu’s eyes bug out as he looks at the clock sitting on Minghao’s nightstand. It reads ‘10:17’.

“I didn’t realize how long the parade had lasted.” Mingyu admits, standing up from the bed. He yawns and stretches his arms above his head, causing the sweatshirt to rise up a little and show his stomach.  _ Okay, it might be a little small. _

Minghao nods. He grabs his phone off of his charger and then walks to his door, throwing it open and then walking out into the hallway. Mingyu follows him as they make their way down to the first floor, along with the others that had stopped by the house before heading to the tailgate.

“Yeah, and that was just the beginning.” Minghao chuckles. “Prepare yourself, Kim Mingyu. The Kappa homecoming tailgate is no joke.”

 

~

 

Mingyu is  _ drunk. _ It is 1:34 on a Saturday afternoon, and Mingyu isn’t sure if he’s ever been so drunk in his life before. The great thing about it, though, is that  _ everyone _ around him is drunk too. Even Ashley, who he’s seen briefly in passing throughout the day; he’s had to open countless beer bottles for her, it’s amazing that she hasn’t passed out yet. 

Chan, however, is not as fortunate. The poor kid is propped up against Jeonghan, lids hooded as he fights off the urge to sleep. Mingyu missed Jeonghan’s grand apology to the younger, but apparently they’re best friends now, because Jeonghan doesn’t even look bothered. He just pats the younger’s hair lightly as he coaxes him through his drunken stupor, occasionally scolding him for not knowing his limit and getting  _ too _ fucked up.

Mingyu can relate.

He’s seen Wonwoo, too, although not as much as he’d like. Wonwoo has spent the majority of his time under the tent talking to people. Mingyu has noticed he hasn’t drank much, and wonders why, but doesn’t stay bothered by it because there’s too much going on. Soonyoung is dancing on a table, Jihoon is screaming at him, Jun is filming it, security is running over to their tent. It’s a mess.

The tailgate wraps up around 2:30, because the football game starts at 3. Pledis University isn’t know for their talent in football, they aren’t bad but they aren’t  _ good, _ so naturally the student population moves the party to various houses and apartment complexes rather than to the stadium. A good deal of kids  _ do _ go to the game, but most don’t, Mingyu included. He has to stay to help clean up anyways. Well, he doesn’t  _ have _ to, but he has nowhere else to go, so he does.

“Mingyu!” someone shouts at him, and when he turns around he finds Minghao pointing at him. Minghao is positively plastered, as well, really they all are, so when he starts wagging his finger in Mingyu’s direction, Mingyu doesn’t even question it. He just shuffles his way over to the younger while cackling, because it’s  _ funny, _ okay?

“I love you!” Minghao shouts when Mingyu arrives, throwing an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close. They both laugh. “Did you know-”

He pauses and points to Jun, who’s still standing under the tent, picking up trash off of the grass and throwing it into a trash bag. Mingyu watches him do so, because Minghao takes about 5000 year to reply.

“-that I am going home with him?”

“Really?” Mingyu was not aware. “Since when?”

“He doesn’t know yet but I am. He’s so nice to look at.”

“You know who’s nicer to look at?” Mingyu asks. Minghao shakes his head ‘no’. “Wonwoo.”

“Lies.” Minghao scoffs. “Jun wins.”

“You’re blind.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“You are.” Minghao is still pointing at Jun and the only reason they stop bickering is because when they look up, the older boy is staring at them, a confused expression written across his face. He puts his trash bag down and walks over to them, eyebrows raised.

“What?”

“We are arguing-” Minghao begins, his words only slurring a little, “-about which one of our boys is hotter.”

Jun’s eyes about pop out of their sockets, but he doesn’t say anything. His face does turn a nice shade of red, though.

“You won.”

“No way.” Mingyu pipes up, slipping out of Minghao’s grip. “Jun, you’re hot, but Wonwoo is way hotter.”

“Um.” the older boy begins, clearly taken aback. “Okay.”

“Don’t worry about him, he’s stupid.” Minghao turns so that he’s fully facing Jun. Jun looks mildly uncomfortable, but not about being in Minghao’s presence.

“You need water.” Jun eventually says. He then turns to Mingyu. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m fantastic.” Mingyu grins and Jun rolls his eyes, before he tugs Minghao to his side and starts pulling him away. Mingyu watches while they go, smirk plastered across his face.

“Take care of him he likes butt stuff!”

“Hey, me too!” Mingyu hears Soonyoung scream, and when he whips around, he finds the older boy sitting in a chair. Jihoon is on the ground next to him, wiping away blood from his knee. There are no more security guards and Mingyu has no idea what’s happened, but he goes to him anyways.

“Me too.” Mingyu admits. Soonyoung grins and Jihoon groans from the ground.

“Hey, Mingyu.” Soonyoung starts, and then his eyes start watering. Mingyu watches as Jihoon gives his boyfriend an exasperated look, and then the smaller boy stands up and walks away. He throws away the bloody tissue in his hand but he doesn’t come back.

“What?”

Soonyoung stands up and faces Mingyu head on, his eyes wet and red. Mingyu is too drunk to comprehend what’s going on, but he’s also too drunk to control his emotions, so his eyes start watering as well.

“Man, I’m sorry.” Soonyoung mutters. Mingyu doesn’t know what he’s sorry about. “We didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“What?” Mingyu asks. Soonyoung sniffs.

“Big Little Reveal.”

“Oh!” Mingyu lets out a watery laugh. “It’s okay.”

“Are you sure?”

If Mingyu wasn’t over it already, he sure as hell would be by now.

“Good.” Soonyoung wails and throws himself at Mingyu, enveloping the younger into a bear hug. Mingyu hugs him back and then they both just  _ cry, _ standing there in the middle of the grassy area in front of the stadium, for the world to see. Except mostly everyone has already left, and Mingyu is pretty sure the only person watching them is Jihoon. He might even be taking pictures.

“Man, I love you.” Soonyoung chokes out. “You’re my  _ grand _ little. I’m a grandpa.”

“You’re old.” Mingyu mutters. Soonyoung is only a year older than him, though. “Like, ancient.”

“I’m gonna die soon.” Soonyoung sobs. Mingyu can’t help it, he cries more. He’s positive he’s going to leave tear stains on Soonyoung’s shirt. He doesn’t want him to  _ die. _

“You know what, we’re going to head home.” Jihoon says, reappearing and peeling Soonyoung off of Mingyu. “Mingyu, you should probably go find Wonwoo.”

“We’re not dating.” Mingyu says on impulse. Jihoon rolls his eyes.

“I didn’t say you were. He’s significantly less drunk than you though, and can help you get home.”

“Oh.” Mingyu feels his cheeks warm at that. “Okay.”

“Do you need help?”

Mingyu is not a  _ child, _ he shakes his head ‘no’. Jihoon just shrugs and then begins to tug Soonyoung away, who’s still sniffling, and waving at Mingyu like he’s dropping his child off at school for the first time. Mingyu waves back and then when they’re out of sight, he turns around to head back to the tent, on a quest to find Wonwoo.

He doesn’t find him immediately. He finds Seungcheol first, who’s folding up tables, and who asks if he’s okay. Mingyu nods and almost ignores him, intent on finding Wonwoo. He eventually does, though, finding the older folding chairs near the tent. He walks up to him and throws his arms around him, digging his head into his back. It catches Wonwoo off guard, and when he turns around, he startles a little.

“Hey- woah, are you okay? Why are you crying?”

Mingyu lifts his head and sniffles, heavily, even though the tears have stopped.

“Soonyoung is going to  _ die _ soo.”

“What? What happened? Is he okay?” Wonwoo’s eyes are panicky and Mingyu barely has enough time to explain before Wonwoo is straightening him up and wiping the tears off of his cheeks.

“He’s my  _ grand _ big. He’s old.”

Wonwoo sighs, like it’s physically painful for him to be in Mingyu’s presence. He pulls Mingyu back to his chest, though, and huffs out a laugh.

“You scared me. Don’t go around saying stuff like that.”

Mingyu apologizes, quietly. Wonwoo pats at his hair.

“How much did you drink?”

Mingyu had stopped counting after the twelfth beer. He knows it’s way,  _ way _ more than that, though. He shrugs.

“I have to finish folding up these chairs, and then we can leave, okay?”

Mingyu nods and then detaches himself from Wonwoo. He’s in no condition to help, so he plops himself down next to the tree that’s shading the area next to their tent. Wonwoo smiles at him and then continues to fold up the chairs that are left, stacking them on a cart that’s stationed on the sidewalk. Mingyu watches him the entire time, but also notices the others that are left. Jeonghan is now helping Seungcheol with the tables, but Chan is still there, sleeping on the grass and covered by Jeonghan’s jacket. Joshua is talking to some alumni who have stayed to help clean up; they’re throwing away trash, and taking down tents that weren’t put up by the university. Besides that, though, there really isn’t anyone else.

Wonwoo gets done about three years later, and Mingyu  _ knows _ that it didn’t actually take that long, but he’s positive that he could have taken a nap during the time. He’s almost asleep when Wonwoo tugs him off of the ground and starts guiding him towards the street.

They say a quick goodbye to Jeonghan, Seungcheol, and Joshua, and then they head off, in the direction of Greek Row. Mingyu stumbles the entire way and they haven’t even made it past the dorms yet when Wonwoo stops him, a small smirk on his face.

“You’re a mess.” he says, and then turns around and bends down, patting his back. “Hop on, or we’re never going to get there.”

“Can’t.” Mingyu mumbles. 1) His legs are no longer working and 2) he’s pretty sure he weighs twice as much as Wonwoo.

“You can. Come on, I’m tired and just want to go home and take a nap.”

“I’m too fat.”

Wonwoo stands up and scoffs, turning so that he can look at Mingyu.

“You’re far from fat, Mingyu.”

“I’ve got pudge.” Mingyu pokes at his stomach and it  _ feels _ rock hard, yeah, but he still has pudge.

“Well, I love whatever pudge you think you have, so please just get on my back so we can get to the house sometime this century.”

“I’ll break you.”

“If I feel you start to break me, I’ll throw you off and drag you the rest of the way.” Wonwoo compromises. Mingyu, content with his answer, nods and then climbs onto Wonwoo’s back. The older doesn’t even struggle to pick him up; he just wraps his arms around Mingyu’s legs and then starts walking down the street again, slower this time, but just as efficient.

Mingyu blacks out. He doesn’t remember the walk at all, all he knows is that he  _ was _ on campus, and now he’s standing in front of the Theta Phi house.

“I can’t carry you up the stairs.” Wonwoo admits. Mingyu thinks he looks sheepish, but doesn’t mention it, just nods. He’s tired, suddenly.

“Am I supposed to walk back to my apartment by myself?”

“No, idiot.” Wonwoo huffs out a laugh and then grabs Mingyu’s hand, tugging him up the front stairs of the house. He enters his code and then walks into the house, Mingyu trailing after him, hand clasped tight in the other's. Wonwoo pulls him up the stairs and then to his room; Mingyu is coherent enough to know that that’s where they’re heading.

Once there, Wonwoo pushes his bedroom door open and tiptoes into the room. The light is off and Mingyu is about to ask why they’re being quiet and careful, but then he notices that Jun is asleep in his bed.

Wait no, not Jun. Well, yes, Jun...but also someone else. Mingyu  _ literally _ walks over to the bed, and bends down to get a closer look, and imagine his surprise when he sees  _ Minghao _ curled up next to Jun. He stands back up and turns to Wonwoo, while pointing down at the bed.

“That’s my best friend.”

Wonwoo snorts. “You’re right. Please stop yelling, you’ll wake them.”

Mingyu was not aware that he had been yelling. He purses his lips and walks over to Wonwoo’s side of the room, trying to be as quiet as he can. He trips on a shoe on the way there.

“Hey.” he says, and Wonwoo turns to him, after taking his shirt off. Mingyu’s mind short circuits before he remembers what he had wanted to say.

“Best friends dating best friends.” he laughs. Wonwoo rolls his eyes, but there’s a hint of a smile on his lips. He doesn’t try to correct Mingyu. Mingyu,  _ elated, _ does a little happy dance.

“Stop doing that.” Wonwoo mutters, though he laughs lightly. Mingyu does the dance again; Wonwoo picks a shirt up off of the ground and balls it up, before he throws it at Mingyu’s head. Mingyu cackles.

“Are you going to take a nap with me, or not?” Wonwoo asks the younger, already tugging his jeans off. He picks the same sweatpants he had gotten from Mingyu up off of the ground and pulls them on, before falling onto his bed face first. Mingyu grins at the older; he’s cute.

“Yes.” he mumbles. He doesn’t want to sleep in his jeans, so he pulls them off at once, but leaves the sweatshirt on; he’s freezing, anyways. He then climbs into the bed next to Wonwoo, who’s rolled over, leaving room for Mingyu. And because he’s cold, he burrows down into the comforter, and then wraps himself around Wonwoo, laying his head down on the older’s chest. Wonwoo laughs and wraps his arms around him, happy to comply.

“Good night.” Mingyu yawns, already falling asleep. He wasn’t aware of how tired he actually was until his head hit the pillow.

“Sweet dreams, Mingyu.” Wonwoo mutters. Mingyu feels the older place a kiss on his forehead but that’s about the last thing he registers before he’s asleep.

He definitely misses the quiet ‘love you’ Wonwoo mumbles into his hair. 


	12. Chapter 12

**> i have something to tell you**

 

Mingyu stares down at his phone. He’s in psychology, for probably the first time in two weeks, which Minghao  _ knows _ about so he doesn’t understand why the younger is texting him. Wonwoo pokes his side from where he’s sitting next to him, because apparently that’s a  _ thing _ now. 

Mingyu had to move to the front of the room, and he’s now in the professor’s direct line of view, but it’s fine. Wonwoo answers all of his clicker questions for him, and it’s significantly helped to improve his grade.

“Who’s that?”

“Minghao.” Mingyu mumbles, typing out a reply, telling Minghao he’ll call him after class. “He said he has something to tell me.”

“He can’t just tell you over text?”

Mingyu shrugs and pockets his phone, before picking his pencil back up and focusing in on the professor again. He’s been trying to take good notes; he honestly has no idea what they’ve learned since the beginning of the semester, and he really needs to get his shit together, because his GPA is awful.

They’re only in class for about 10 more minutes before the professor lets them out, 7 minutes earlier than usual because they’re done with the chapter powerpoint. Which means that they have another test, so Mingyu needs to start studying, because he doesn’t want to fail again.

He’s coming up with a studying schedule in his head when Wonwoo grabs his hand and starts tugging him towards the exit, the back one this time, which is closer to the student union. Mingyu goes willingly; Wonwoo has a class in 15 minutes in a building across the campus, the opposite way from where they’re walking, but he doesn’t question it.

“Text me later?” Wonwoo asks once they’re out of the lecture hall. He leans up against the wall by the door, his hand still holding onto Mingyu’s. Mingyu stands in front of him and it reminds him a lot of highschool couples in the hallways during passing period, but he just smiles down at Wonwoo.

“Of course.”

“Okay.” Wonwoo smiles sheepishly, and then looks around the hallway nervously, before he leans up and places a small kiss on the corner of Mingyu’s mouth. He pulls away and removes his hand from Mingyu’s grasp, and then offers one more smile, before turning and leaving. Mingyu watches him go until he’s out of the building and on his way to history.

_ So that’s why he drug me out here, _ Mingyu thinks, while he grins in Wonwoo’s general direction. He then remembers Minghao’s text and pulls his phone out of his pocket, opening up Minghao’s contact name and pressing the ‘call’ button.

Minghao doesn’t even greet him when he answers the phone, just says a quick “alleyway” and then hangs up again. Mingyu scowls down at the now-disconnected phone before he pockets it again. Minghao is always doing shit like this, and it annoys Mingyu, because texting is an option for a reason.

He goes anyways, though. If they’re meeting in the alleyway, it must be something important. Mingyu doesn’t rush, though; they’ve got all day. Minghao only has theatre left but he never goes anyways, so it’s not like they have any place to be. Which is why Mingyu takes 20 minutes to walk to the alleyway, instead of 10.

When he arrives, he finds the younger pacing, mumbling down at the ground and kicking at rocks. Mingyu smirks.

“You okay?”

“Fuck, you scared me.” Minghao exclaims. “What took you so long?”

Mingyu shrugs. Minghao rolls his eyes at him.

“What’d you want to tell me?”

“You’re going to formal with Wonwoo still, right?”

Mingyu quirks an eyebrow, but nods. Minghao nods back.

“Jun asked me to be his date.”

Both eyebrows shoot up at that. Mingyu tilts his head in question.

“You guys are okay?”

“Yeah?” Minghao sighs, once he realizes that Mingyu isn’t in the loop. “After we woke up after the tailgate we got food and talked some more. We’ve hung out a couple of times since then. Last night we got dinner.”

It’s been awhile since the tailgate. Mingyu remembers waking up and rolling over to find that his best friend was gone, along with Jun. He hadn’t really cared, though, especially when he and Wonwoo became  _ occupied. _ He’s annoyed, though, that Minghao hasn’t told him about this before.

“Oh, cool, so he asked you last night?” Mingyu asks. Minghao shakes his head, though. “So then...?”

“This morning.” Minghao sighs. “Over a text.”

“What’d you text him back?” Mingyu asks. He bites back a smile, because that would only piss the younger off.

“I haven’t replied.”

“You have your read receipts on.” Mingyu points out. Minghao nods. “Wow, you all are the most romantic bunch I’ve ever met.”

“Shut up.” Minghao swats at Mingyu, scowl written across his face. “What do I tell him?”

“Well, do you want to go?”

Minghao sighs. Mingyu rolls his eyes; he doesn’t quite understand why Minghao needs help with this decision. It’s a simple yes or no answer.

“They don’t...this is...I mean, usual girls are the dates.”

“I’m not a girl.” Mingyu points out. “Neither is Soonyoung.” He remembers Soonyoung talking about formal with Jihoon once, when they were all drunk. “If you hadn’t noticed, boys don’t have to date only girls.”

“I know that, asshole.” Minghao punches Mingyu in the arm again, but the faint blush on his face suggests that he really just doesn’t know how to feel. “But, like, what if people aren’t cool with it? I don’t want anyone to say anything bad about Jun and-”

“Minghao.” Mingyu says, catching his friend’s attention, and effectively shutting him up. “I’m pretty sure Joshua knows about Wonwoo and I and he’s cool with it, not to mention Jihoon is the VP and he’s very much in a homosexual relationship with Soonyoung. If anyone had had a problem with it and had voiced it, then I’m positive that those two would have kicked them out of the chapter already for being a dick.”

Minghao just continues to stare at the ground below him.

“Seriously, what’s going on? Why are you so worried?”

“I like him.” Minghao whispers. “Like him like...I-want-to-date-him kind of like him.”

“Then say yes.” Mingyu suggests. He’s not sure what else to say, at this point. “No one is going to care. In case you haven’t noticed, half of our friends are gay.”

“I don’t know why I’m so torn up about this.” Minghao admits. He lets his shoulders drop and looks up at Mingyu, sad smile on his face.

“It’s because you’ve never done this before. I get it. But I think Jun likes you too, in the he-wants-to-date-you kind of way, so everything will be fine.”

Minghao sighs and nods. He pulls his phone out of his back pocket and doesn’t say anything as he unlocks it.

“So I should say yes?”

“You should.” Mingyu nods. “And then we can make our coolers together!”

Minghao snorts as he types, already shaking his head. “I’m not making a cooler.”

“You are.” Minghao doesn’t get a choice; even if Jun doesn’t ask him to, Mingyu is still going to force him to make one with him.  _ It’s part of the fun, _ he’ll argue.

“Whatever.” Minghao rolls his eyes and then turns his phone around to show Mingyu what he’s typed. “Is this okay?”

 

**> are you free the first weekend in december? do you want to go to formal with me? as my date? **

**yes <**

 

Mingyu laughs at both texts, and then hits ‘send’ before Minghao can turn his phone back around. He’s not backing out of this one. 

“Mingyu!”

Mingyu cackles, and then turns around, before he begins to walk out of the alleyway. He’s starving and he knows Minghao probably is too, especially because the younger doesn’t even protest as he follows Mingyu towards the student union.

“Ah, we’re going to have so much fun, Xui Minghao!”

 

~

 

Turns out, painting coolers is in fact  _ not _ fun. Mingyu finds this out as he’s staring down at his newly purchased cooler, a week later, completely clueless as to what he has to do with it next. Minghao and Vernon are in the same boat as him, both looking down at their coolers with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression. 

“You said you knew what to do.” Minghao points out, addressing Mingyu as he scowls.

“Yeah.” Vernon adds. “Seungkwan said he didn’t even want a cooler, anyways, so if you don’t know what to do then I’m not making one.”

Mingyu wants to point out that  _ Seungkwan hadn’t even asked Vernon to formal, Vernon had just told him he was going with him, _ but he doesn’t. Instead, he sighs.

“Don’t you just paint it?”

“I don’t know, do you?” Minghao asks, clearly annoyed. Mingyu peers over at him and finds the younger glaring at him. They’re standing in the middle of Vernon’s dorm room, looking down at their red coolers, and Mingyu finally admits that  _ no, _ he doesn’t know what to do. Only to himself, though.

“We can call Soonyoung.” Mingyu shrugs. “I’m sure he knows what to do.”

Mingyu  _ isn’t _ sure but he doesn’t know what else to suggest, so he just pulls his phone out of his pocket and calls Soonyoung. Luckily, the older picks up on the third ring, though he sounds agitated when he does.

“Yeah?” he asks, and Mingyu pulls a face, until he hears a loud bang on the other end of the line. “Jeonghan, you’re going to kill yourself, put it down!”

Mingyu stays quiet until Soonyoung’s focus is back on him again, which takes longer than he had expected. He hears one more bang and then the older is back.

“Sorry, what’s up?”

“Do you know how to make these coolers?” Mingyu cuts right to the chase. Soonyoung snorts before he answers.

“Yeah.” he says, and he sounds amused. “Jeonghan and I are making ours right now. We’re at Jihoon’s, you can come over and we’ll help.”

“Wait, why is Jeonghan making one?” Mingyu asks. As far as he knows, Theta is the only fraternity having their formal this weekend. Everyone usually has theirs in the spring, but Theta usually hosts two, so they’re doing their first one now.

“I’m Joshua’s date!” Mingyu hears Jeonghan yell in the background, and that’s when he realizes he’s on speaker.

“Since when are you and Joshua dating?”

“We’re not!” Jeonghan yells back.

“They aren’t.” Soonyoung adds. “He and Seungcheol are Joshua’s ‘dates’ every year. It’s Jeonghan’s year to make the cooler, Seungcheol made it last year.”

“Why do they  _ both _ go?” Mingyu is confused, to say the least. He’d only been aware of the fact that Seungcheol was Joshua’s best friend.

“They have sex once every blue moon together, all three of them. I don’t know, it’s weird, we just go with it.” Soonyoung huffs out a breath and if Mingyu is correct, Jeonghan has just thrown something at him. “I have to go though, Jeonghan is trying to use the sander again.”

“I can do it myself!” Jeonghan’s yell is muffled and then said sander fires up, followed by a scream.

“He can’t.” Soonyoung explains. “See you when you get here.” The older hangs up without saying anything else, leaving Mingyu to stare down at his phone with his mouth wide open. He’s not sure what just happened.

“So? Can he help?”

“He said to come over to Jihoon’s, they’re making their coolers right now.”

Minghao and Vernon are moving to gather their stuff before Mingyu’s even done talking.

“Also, Joshua, Jeonghan, and Seungcheol have sex. Together. All three of them.”

“Weird.” Minghao says, though his tone indicates that he doesn’t even care. “Come on, grab your stuff.”

They decide to walk to Jihoon’s house. Mingyu had snagged a good parking spot after coming back from purchasing the coolers, so he doesn’t want to move his car. Also, it’s nice out. There are a lot of people out, some hammocking, some throwing footballs or baseballs around, most just laying on a blanket and studying. Each dorm building they pass by, there are least three girls sitting outside of it, working on coolers. Mingyu figures that it’s just national cooler day, or something; or, rather, everyone has just procrastinated like them.

When they arrive at Jihoon’s house they find Soonyoung and Jeonghan sitting on the front porch, with their own coolers in front of them, doing  _ something _ to them that Mingyu has no idea what it is. Joshua is standing in the front yard, throwing a football back and forth with Seungcheol; Jihoon is sitting on the banister with his laptop propped up in his lap.

“Oh, hey, you brought everyone!” Soonyoung greets them, waving before he ducks his head back down and continues doing what he was doing. Mingyu waves back, and then waves to the others, before he makes his way up to the porch.

“Minghao and Vernon are going to formal too, so we all need help.” Mingyu explains as he sets his cooler down on the ground, and then plops himself down besides Soonyoung. Minghao and Vernon follow.

“I know you’re going with Seungkwan,” Soonyoung looks up and points at Minghao and Mingyu, “-but who are you two going with?”

Minghao’s face turns bright red, while Mingyu wonders if Soonyoung is just really dense, or oblivious, or both. He doesn’t get a chance to ask him, though, nor is he able to tell him that  _ it’s Wonwoo, you idiot, _ because in that moment  _ Jun _ walks out the front door.

“Me.” he says, grinning, while he holds two beers in his hands. He hands one to Jeonghan. “Well, Minghao, that is. Mingyu is going with Wonwoo.”

“Since when are you guys a thing?” Soonyoung asks, gesturing back and forth between Minghao and Jun. Minghao’s face is still bright red, and it doesn’t get any better when Jun shrugs. The older doesn’t offer any kind of explanation as he continues down the stairs and joins Joshua and Seungcheol; he only smirks and winks at Minghao.

“Anyways-” Soonyoung begins, looking up from his work indefinitely to address the three younger boys in front of him. “-what do you guys already have done?”

“We bought the coolers.” Mingyu says, pointing to the coolers in front of them. That’s all they had brought.

“That’s it?”

Mingyu, as well as Minghao and Vernon, nod. Soonyoung sighs and Jeonghan just chuckles from where he’s rubbing a piece of gritty looking paper over his cooler.

“You didn’t buy paint, or primer, or anything?”

“No?” Mingyu says. He knew that they’d have to actually  _ paint _ the coolers, but for some reason, buying paint never occurred to him.

“You’re lucky we have tons of leftovers we’ve collected over the years.” Soonyoung says, laughing a little. “You guys can just use our stuff, but you’re going to have to stay here and work on them because we need it too.”

“Okay.” Mingyu nods, and then- “By the way, why are you making coolers if you’ve already made them? Do you  _ have _ to make them every year? And why does Jihoon have a house? Wonwoo told me that if you hold an office position, you have to live in the house.”

All of the questions come flooding to him at once, so he asks them all. Soonyoung just snorts.

“You don’t have to but we do. Best one gets bragging rights for the entire year and never has to restock the coolers during tailgates.” he explains.

“Wonwoo lied!” Jun shouts from the yard, answering Mingyu’s question about the house. “It’s encouraged but he just doesn’t want to worry about paying his own rent and shit! Plus I think he has attachment issues!”

“Jihoonie doesn’t like people, that’s why he has his own house.” Soonyoung jokes. “It’s great for when we have sex; no one walks in on us.”

_ “Soonyoung.” _ Jihoon groans from where he’s perched on the banister. He rolls his eyes but Soonyoung just grins at him, making a heart with his fingers and just generally being  _ Soonyoung. _

“Anyways,” Jeonghan begins, catching all of their attention. “-you guys need to spackle first.”

“We need to  _ what?” _ Vernon asks, his face twisted up in confusion. Mingyu can relate; he has no idea what  _ spackling _ is.

“You just take this stuff and smooth it over the indents on the coolers. Like, the brand indents.” Jeonghan explains. He points the where the ‘Coleman’ is written out on Vernon’s cooler. Mingyu grimaces, because there are at least three different places that need to be  _ spackled _ on the cooler.

Jeonghan ends up doing one part on Vernon’s cooler, to show them all how it’s supposed to be done. After that they’re on their own; Vernon does just fine, Mingyu only gets  _ some _ of it on his hands, but Minghao makes a mess. He gets the stuff (Mingyu doesn’t know if it’s actually called spackle, or…?) everywhere, on his hands, his clothes, it doesn’t go well.

“Jun.” he says, loud enough so that the older can hear him, and Jun is already making his way up to the porch before Minghao continues. “You may not get a cooler.”

Jun bends down and places his chin on Minghao’s shoulder, so that he can watch him. Mingyu thinks that it’s a miracle that Minghao doesn’t push Jun off; if it had been him, he’d already be sprawled out across the porch behind him.

“I told you you didn’t have to make one.” Jun replies, chuckling. Mingyu remembers reading a text while they were eating, where Jun had told Minghao that he didn’t care about a cooler.

“Yeah, but…” Minghao trails off and continues spreading the spackle stuff over his cooler, his face set in a determined expression. Jun laughs again, and then presses a kiss to the younger’s cheek, before he stands back up.

“It doesn’t have to be perfect, I’ll like it no matter what.”

Jun walks back into the house, following Seungcheol and Joshua, while Minghao blushes and angrily spreads the spackle over the surface. He’s already put some on the spot, but Mingyu isn’t going to tell him that. Instead, he just finishes his own spackling, and converses with Jeonghan and Vernon.

It doesn’t take as long as Mingyu thought it would for the coolers to dry, which is a good thing, because according to Soonyoung, the next step is hell.  _ Literal _ hell, like, apparently Soonyoung cried the first time he had to do it. Which makes Mingyu nervous as fuck, especially when Soonyoung pulls out  _ power tools. _

“You can either use this,” Soonyoung holds the  _ thing _ up, “-or use the paper, like Jeonghan.”

“I was banned from sanding with that.” Jeonghan points to the tool, which Mingyu guesses is an electric sander. He then realizes that the paper Jeonghan’s holding is  _ sand paper, _ and shivers, before pointing to what Soonyoung has.

“I’ll use that.” he says. Jeonghan is going to town on his cooler with the paper, sanding it down so that none of the red is showing, and  _ now _ Mingyu understands why he keeps complaining about his arms cramping up every 15 minutes. Mingyu would rather  _ die _ than sand manually, if he’s being honest.

Soonyoung shows them all how to use the sander; his cooler is already sanded down, and Mingyu had wondered why his was stark white, but now he understands. While he’s doing so, he tells them all about the first time he had made a cooler, and how he had bought the wrong grit size of sandpaper so it took twice as long to sand it down. That was before he knew that electric sanders were a thing, apparently.

They’re on their own again once they all get the hang of it; surprisingly, Minghao is the best out of the three of them. Mingyu does okay, and Vernon struggles, but Soonyoung does most of his for him so it doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t seem like it takes very long but in the end, they spend nearly three hours getting the coolers ready for painting.

“You have to prime them now.” Soonyoung tells them all when they’re done, as Minghao finishes the last corner of his cooler. “That takes time to dry, so once we’re done with that we can take a break.”

Mingyu thinks  _ good, _ because he’s starving, and sweating, because for some reason the weather has decided to suddenly turn  _ warm _ this weekend. He fans himself with a piece of cardboard as Soonyoung presents them with bottles of spray-on primer. He instructs them to just spray their cooler all over, and then goes to help Jeonghan sand the rest of his, because the older is only about halfway done and looks about ready to chuck the thing off of the porch.

Priming is the easiest part of the entire day; all they have to do is, like Soonyoung had instructed them, spray the stuff all over their coolers and then let it dry. When they’re done spraying they join Soonyoung and Jeonghan in the house for a break, where they find the other four boys, who are all eating various snacks and still sipping on beer. It’s the weekend; Mingyu expects them to do nothing else.

“So.” Seungcheol begins as he eats a handful of chips. He doesn’t look drunk, but he doesn’t look sober either, so Mingyu snorts at him. “Vernon is going with Seungkwan, and Minghao is apparently going with Jun. So, Mingyu, who are you going with again?”

They must not be as obvious as Mingyu had thought they were, because not only is Seungcheol looking at him expectantly, but Joshua and Jihoon are, too.

“Wonwoo.” he says, laughing a little. Seungcheol quirks an eyebrow.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. I just, uh, thought we were more obvious than that.” Mingyu explains as he shrugs. Seungcheol shakes his head.

“You’re not.”

“Okay.”

“I mean, I thought you guys were just fucking.”

Minghao snorts from where he’s standing next to Mingyu’s side, and Vernon lets out a full blown laugh.

“We’re not.” Mingyu chokes out, shaking his head. “I mean...I don’t know what we are, to be honest.”

“He’s always been like that.” Joshua says from behind Seungcheol, where he’s sitting on the countertop and drinking a bottle of water. “Doesn’t label shit, pushes people away.”

Mingyu wouldn’t say that Wonwoo is pushing him away, but he supposes if he  _ wasn’t _ as into the older as he is, he might’ve walked out by now.

“Don’t worry.” Jun pipes up, catching Mingyu’s attention. “If there’s anyone who can change that, it’s probably you.”

Not that Mingyu needs the reassurance, but the statement makes him feel better. He smiles.

“Just the fact that he asked you to formal is a step in the right direction.” Joshua explains. “He’s gone stag every other year. Wouldn’t ask a girl, or a guy.”

“Does he know that...you guys know...about him?” Mingyu asks then, because he figures that it’s kind of out there now. Jun, Joshua,  _ and _ Seungcheol snort.

“I’m the only one he’s ever directly told, but everyone else knows, because it’s kind of obvious.” Jun says, shaking his head while he smiles. “I don’t know why he thinks any of us would care.”

“Ah, you shouldn’t be talking.” Jeonghan pipes up, pointing to Jun. “You were all freaked out when you were drunk the other night, because you didn’t want anyone to know about you and Minghao because you thought people would  _ care.” _

“Hey, Minghao said the same thing.” Mingyu adds, which earns him a glare from the younger, as well as a slap on the shoulder.

“I never said that!”

“You alluded to it!”

“Hey.” Seungcheol cuts them both off, but that doesn’t stop Mingyu from sticking his tongue out at his best friend. “Let’s just all accept the fact that we’re all a little bit gay, and that no one cares.”

“I’m not gay.” Jihoon says then, from where he’s sitting on the counter opposite of Joshua. It’s funny, because Soonyoung is standing in between his legs, with the shorter wrapped around his shoulders like an octopus.

“My dick says otherwise.”

“That doesn’t even make sense, Soon.”

“It does when you throw a naked me into the equation.”

Jihoon responds by pretending to choke Soonyoung, to which Soonyoung reacts rather  _ dramatically _ to. Mingyu grins at them; he’s jealous, because honestly, he just wants to do that kind of cute shit with Wonwoo.

“Anyways.” Joshua turns back to Mingyu, and addresses him. “Tell Wonwoo that he can lock you down, because we don’t give a fuck. In fact, it’s encouraged; he looks happier these days anyways.”

“Well, wait-” Jun begins, and Mingyu is afraid he’s going to disagree with Joshua, “-has he told you it’s because he ‘ghosts on people’?”

“No?” Mingyu quirks an eyebrow up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Dude, I don’t know.” Jun chuckles. “He always tells people that. It’s probably a good thing that you haven’t heard that, though, because usually the whole ‘I think we’d be better as friends’ thing comes next.”

Mingyu’s eyes widen, and he tries to hide it, but it doesn’t work.

“Not trying to like, freak you out or anything.”

“Well, you’re doing a pretty shitty job at it.” Joshua laughs, and turns back to Mingyu. “Look, I’m sure you’ll be fine. He clearly likes you.”

Mingyu knows that that’s a damn  _ lie _ because they didn’t even know who he was going to formal with. He voices this to the group, and they all just kind of go silent, and look to each other for help. Minghao snorts and then tries to cover it with a cough, but Mingyu still glares at him.

“He brought you back to the house. He never does that with hookups, so…” Jun trails off.

“Has he hooked up with anyone else since me?” Mingyu asks, almost desperate, looking at Jun for answers. Technically, he doesn’t have the authority, or whatever, to get mad about it if Wonwoo  _ has, _ but still. Jun, though, just shakes his head ‘no’.

“No. Just you. He doesn’t hook up a lot, but he only ever talks about you, so I know it’s genuine.”

“See, why didn’t you just say that in the first place?” Seungcheol says, gesturing towards Mingyu. “Now the poor kid is freaking out, thinking the kid he loves doesn’t love him back.”

“Love?” Mingyu coughs, as his face heats up. “I don’t, uh...no.”

“Not love, but you get what I mean.” Seungcheol laughs. The others laugh, too, but Mingyu doesn’t.

That gets him thinking. Love?  _ Does he  _ love _ Wonwoo? He can’t...he’s know him for, what, four months? How can you love someone after only four months? _ Mingyu ponders on all of this, and only snaps out of it when Minghao tugs on his arm.

“We’re going back out to work on the coolers.” he says, before he heads out the front door, following Jeonghan, Soonyoung, and Vernon. Mingyu nods and trails behind them.

He came into this whole cooler-mess with the intent of making something for Wonwoo, because he cares about the older  _ a lot, _ and wants to make formal special, even if Wonwoo doesn’t care about any of the cheesy, traditional stuff. Now, though, he’s worried; worried that Wonwoo isn’t as into this as he is, worried that Wonwoo is never going to want to make things official, worried that everyone isn’t just crazy, and that the reason they hadn’t noticed the two of them together is because it’s  _ not _ obvious, because Mingyu is the only one putting in the effort.

But then he remembers the cashier at the cafe that Wonwoo had taken him to, and Ashley, and how Wonwoo has drug him into the hallway everyday after psychology to kiss him before he leaves, and thinks that maybe he’s just overreacting. Maybe, Wonwoo is just afraid, or maybe he’s waiting for the right moment.

Whatever it is, Mingyu pushes it to the back of his head, and focuses in on Soonyoung, who’s telling them all how to actually paint the coolers.

“Just make it personal.” he tells them, and then shows them the stencils he has, as well as pictures he has pinned on Pinterest on his phone. Mingyu ignores the examples and instead begins making a list in his Notes of things to put on the cooler.

He smiles at ‘something haunted maze related’. Maybe he and Wonwoo won’t ever be a  _ thing, _ as in official, or anything, but at least he has this. The memories, the jokes, four good months with him.

_ But maybe, _ he thinks, as he’s googling how to paint bubble letters.  _ Maybe things will change at formal. Maybe I can convince him. _

Whatever Wonwoo’s reasons are, Mingyu doesn’t worry about them for the rest of the night. He focuses on his cooler, and making it the best damn formal cooler ever, because Wonwoo deserves it and even if Mingyu might not be  _ totally _ sure, he’s convinced he’s a little in love with the older. 


	13. Chapter 13

Mingyu stares at his closet. He has not a single idea as to what to pack; he’s been standing in front of the opened doors for 30 minutes now. He has underwear tucked away in his duffle bag, and some socks, but that’s all. He feels helpless, really.

He’s spent the last week with Wonwoo, mostly, either eating with him or staying over at his place or just going on walks throughout the campus with him. Mingyu’s been _happy._ Of course, what he talked about with Jun and the others has been sitting at the back of his mind the entire time, but he hasn’t let it ruin anything. In fact, he thinks things have gotten better; Wonwoo doesn’t even drag him to the _back_ hallway to kiss him goodbye now.

But anyways, the closet. Mingyu doesn’t know what he needs to bring to a _formal._ He has his suit that his mom helped him pick out over Facetime during Thanksgiving break (which he, as well as the rest of his friends, had stayed at school for because the plane ticket back home wasn’t worth it), but he honestly cannot think of anything else to bring. They’re going to Memphis, Tennessee for the weekend. Is it going to be cold? Hot? Mingyu doesn’t fucking know.

Minghao doesn’t know either, because he’s been sitting on Mingyu’s desk, visible through his laptop screen, experiencing the same dilema. Except he actually has a couple of pairs of shoes picked out, already placed in their own bag, whereas Mingyu does not.

“Sweatshirts?” Mingyu asks, yelling over his shoulder so that Minghao can hear him.

“Maybe? The hotel might be cold.”

Mingyu tosses two different sweatshirts onto his bed, as well as his favorite pair of sweatpants. He has a small mountain of clothing piled onto his mattress, and he wonders how he’s going to fit it all into one bag. There’s not a lot of room in the car, either, so it’s not like he can take two.

He and Wonwoo are riding down with Jun and Minghao. They’re leaving as soon as Jun gets out of class, which is at 10 am. It’s currently 9:15; Mingyu _may_ be panicking a little.

“Tee shirts? Shorts? It’s December, is it cold there?”

“It’s cold everywhere.” Minghao points out. “Bring clothes for bars and clubs, that’s what Jun told me.”

Wonwoo told Mingyu jack _shit._ He groans and walks further into his closet in search of nicer clothes, because so far all he’s pulled out is tee shirts and other not-so-nice articles of clothing. I.e. all of the sweatshirts and athletic pants.

30 minutes later and Mingyu has, what he thinks, is a bag full of appropriate things for the weekend packed courtesy of a _Total Fraternity Move_ article he found online. He has his suit in a dress bag he obtained from the rental place lying atop his bed, with his duffle bag sitting next to it, filled with jeans and dress shirts and things he can wear as pajamas. He has all of his other stuff, like his toothbrush, deodorant, hair stuff, etc. placed in a small bag he had found in one of his bathroom drawers, and as a last thought, he had stuffed lube and condoms he had finally bought into a side pocket.

They have a hotel room to themselves this weekend; Mingyu is determined to make use of it.

“I think I have everything.” Mingyu tells Minghao, who’s still on Facetime, as he throws two pairs of shoes into his duffle bag. They barely fit, but it works. “Are you done?”

“I can’t find that blue shirt!” Minghao shouts back, his voice muffled because he’s digging through his closet. Mingyu knows what blue shirt he’s talking about; it’s his favorite one, the one he wears every time they go out, because he gets compliments for it.

“Dirty clothes?” Mingyu suggests. Minghao pops up on the camera and shakes his head.

“I washed all of my laundry last night.”

“You did laundry?” Mingyu jokes. Minghao scowls and Mingyu knows that if they were in the same room, Minghao would have hit him.

“I checked everywhere.”

“You have other shirts.”

“Yeah, but that one looks good on me.”

“Jun won’t care.” Mingyu snorts. “Hey, you finished your cooler, right?”

Mingyu had thought that the coolers would not take long to paint, and that they could get them all done in one day. He left Jihoon’s very disappointed, because that was not the case at all. He’s spent every day since then slowly working on his cooler for Wonwoo, painting symbols and letters and modge podging pictures onto it so that the damn thing will look perfect.

The top is standard: Mingyu had painted the Theta letters on it, as well as the date of the formal and the year. The sides are what he had personalized, and what took him the most amount of time to complete. Wonwoo has one Patagonia jacket that Mingyu had made fun of him for owning, because that’s so _frat,_ so Mingyu painted ‘fratagonia’ across one long side of the cooler with the mountain background behind it. It looks nearly the same as the pictures and Mingyu is proud of it, if he’s being honest.

The other long side has a quote said by Ron Swanson from _Parks and Recreation_ that reads ‘Son, there is no wrong way to consume alcohol’. Wonwoo loves the show and Mingyu thought the quote was fitting, seeing as how all they and their friends really do is drink. For the two shorter sides, Mingyu had painted a mural of Memphis, to fit the theme, and then modge podged a ton of different beer labels onto the surface. On the inside he included the stereotypical ‘If you can read this, call a pledge’ saying on the bottom, as well as a bottle opener attached to the roof. It was also his job to _stock_ the cooler, so he put a ton of different types of alcohol into it, as well as other drinks for the drive down.

So really, he thinks he did a good job. If there was a contest, he might even win it.

“Yeah, but just barely.” Minghao says. He’s given up on looking for the shirt, and instead is packing away other dress shirts he finds. He looks annoyed.

“Vernon finished his, like, an hour ago.” Mingyu tells the younger. Vernon had procrastinated, like he usually does, and because his design was _incredibly_ detailed, it had taken him longer than usual to finish the cooler. He skipped all of his classes just to finish it on time.

“They’re going down with Jihoon and Soonyoung, right?” Minghao asks. He’s back on the screen now, his bag zipped shut behind him, his suit laid out just like Mingyu’s. Now they just have to wait.

“Yeah.” Mingyu nods. Everyone just decided to carpool to save gas; plus, a road trip is always more fun with more people involved.

Minghao is in the middle of telling Mingyu about how his cooler dried weird when he gets a text, causing his phone to buzz on his desk. He looks away from the screen and grabs the device, finding a notification from Wonwoo on the front screen.

 

**> jun just got back from class. we’re picking minghao up and then coming to get you. **

 

“They’re about to pick you up.” Mingyu tells Minghao as he locks his phone without replying.

“I know, Jun just texted me.” They both stand up at the same time, Mingyu reaching for his laptop, Minghao for his bags.

“I’ll let you go. See you in a bit.”

Minghao doesn’t say anything, just waves behind his back as Mingyu shuts the Facetime app off on his laptop. He then grabs his backpack and shoves the Mac into it, as well as his chargers for the weekend and other miscellaneous stuff like his wallet and keys. He’s pretty much done after that; he just needs to find his shoes, and drag all of his stuff into the front room, and then he’ll be ready to leave.

He makes a nice pile of his things next to his front door, easy to access once the others are here to pick him up. He then makes his way into the kitchen to retrieve his cooler and the bag of snacks he packed, because he’s actually a _mom,_ and doesn’t want to have to spend money on food on the drive down there.

He supposes that if Wonwoo _wanted_ to get something to eat, he’d pay for it, but he thinks that his _Little Debbie_ cakes and bags of chips are a nice alternative.

All that’s left for him to do is put his shoes on, which he does in a flash, tugging his tennis shoes over his socks before he stands back up and glances around his apartment.

He owns no plants, no pets need to be looked after, the only thing he’s mildly concerned about is his milk going bad. He’s not 100% sure, but he thinks the expiration date is today.

Not _too_ worried about it, though, he decides to drag all of his luggage down to the sidewalk in front of the apartment complex, because it’d be counteractive if Wonwoo or anyone else had to come up and help him. He grabs his duffel bag and throws it over his shoulder, and then does the same with his suit, before he grabs the handle of the cooler, the bag of snacks, and his backpack all with one hand. He uses his other to throw open his door, and then lock it once he’s out of his apartment, and then he heads towards the stairs.

He’s met halfway down them by Wonwoo, who grins up at him, and takes his suit bag and backpack from his hands.

“I was coming up to help.” he says, laughing while Mingyu pants. _Maybe_ two trips would have been better.

“I didn’t want you to have to.” Mingyu admits. They’re almost to the bottom now, and Mingyu can see Jun and Minghao waiting by Jun’s car, the older opening up his trunk while the younger helps him shift stuff around.

Wonwoo just rolls his eyes and smiles as he leads Mingyu to the car, helping him stuff all of his belongings into the trunk once they get there. It takes a couple of minutes, because there isn’t a lot of room, but they eventually get it all to fit. The only things that are left out is the bag of snacks, as well as Minghao and Mingyu’s coolers, which Mingyu assumes are going on the floorboards for easy access.

“Do I get to see it?” Wonwoo asks as they’re climbing back into Jun’s car, referring to the cooler Mingyu is clutching tightly. Mingyu hasn’t shown him yet, mostly because he’s nervous about what the older’s reaction is going to be. He gives it up though, because Wonwoo looks excited, even though he hadn’t even wanted a cooler in the first place. Wonwoo takes it with a grin plastered across his face and Mingyu can’t help but smile at that, even if he is anxious.

“‘Fratagonia’.” Wonwoo chuckles, pointing to the logo. They haven’t left yet, because Jun is turned around and looking at the cooler as well, laughing at the side Wonwoo currently has facing him. “That’s clever, I like it.”

He turns the cooler around and then busts out laughing, surprising Mingyu a little, and causing Minghao to turn around and look away from his phone.

He and Jun are in the front, but Mingyu isn’t even mad, because they have _at least_ a 7 hour drive and he’s hoping that maybe Wonwoo will fall asleep on his shoulder.

“This is great.” Wonwoo says, and he’s already looked at the other two sides, so he wedges the cooler down onto the floorboards where it can rest comfortably for the rest of the ride. “Thank you, I love it.”

Mingyu flushes and nods, though he points back at the cooler, instructing Wonwoo to open it. “There’s more.”

“More?” Wonwoo quirks an eyebrow and bends down to pop the top off. He snorts when he sees the bottle opener and all of the different drinks. “Efficient.”

“Look at the bottom.”

The older moves the bottles and cans around, and it takes a second, but then he laughs again and looks up at Mingyu with the most amused look in his eyes. His nose crinkles and he brings his phone out to take a picture of the words.

“This is going to Seungkwan.” he mutters, still grinning, before he shuts the lid again and shifts in his seat. “This is cool, thank you, really.”

Mingyu shrugs and gives the older a soft smile, hoping that that conveys the message. Wonwoo grins back at him and then turns to Jun, leaning forward so that he can address the older.

“All ready.” he says, and Jun gives him a thumbs up, before he throws his arm around the back of Minghao’s chair and turns around so that he can back out of his parking spot.

“We’re meeting everyone at the QuikTrip by campus, since we’re following Seungcheol.” Jun announces. “I think everyone should be there. Chan had class until 10:30, but they picked him up right after it got out, so that car shouldn’t be too far behind. We’ll probably leave pretty soon.”

“Chan?” Mingyu asks, leaning forward a little. Jun looks at him, briefly, through the rearview mirror.

“Joshua felt bad that he and Seokmin were the only two not going, so he invited them along. They’re riding down with him because Seungcheol has an SUV.”

Mingyu hadn’t even registered that Chan and Seokmin were the only two from their ‘group’ that weren't going. He feels a little bad that he hadn’t realized, but he’s glad they’re coming. It’s always better as a full group, and he’s thankful that Joshua is the president of Theta, so that he can do stuff like this.

The drive to QuikTrip takes three minutes, at most. When they pull in Jun immediately spots Jihoon’s car and drives over to it, parking in the spot to it’s right. He tells everyone to go pee if they need to, and then shuts his car off, rolling down the windows so that he can shout at their friends next to them.

Mingyu doesn’t need to pee. Minghao and Wonwoo do, though, so they get out and head into the gas station together. Mingyu uses the time to watch as Soonyoung and Jihoon emerge from the building. Soonyoung has a hot dog and a drink in his hands, while Jihoon looks annoyed. Mingyu’s window is down now and he can hear Seungkwan and Vernon laughing from within the car next to him.

“He’s gonna run me out of money before we even get there.” Jihoon grumbles, addressing Jun, who’s snickering at the boy. Soonyoung rolls his eyes and climbs back into the passenger seat.

“It’s just a hot dog and a drink, Jihoon, you won’t go bankrupt!”

“I might.” Jihoon replies. He doesn’t get back into his car; instead, he stands next to Jun’s window, and strikes up a conversation with the older.

They wait like that until Minghao and Wonwoo come back out, and coincidentally, as they’re climbing back into the car, Seungcheol pulls up in his big ass SUV. Jeonghan is hanging out of the passenger side window, yelling at all of them, and Mingyu about loses it when he sees Joshua sitting in the back seat looking pained.

“Are you bitches ready to party?” Jeonghan yells, and Mingyu almost asks if he’s already drunk because he doesn’t have any Friday classes, but then he sees the water bottle in the older’s hand and _knows._ It’s filled with a red liquid, which means that it’s his signature vodka concoction, which contains vodka, a fruit punch packet, and Mountain Dew Code Red. Jeonghan loves it; Mingyu thinks it tastes like cough syrup.

“I see you guys are already having fun.” Jun jokes, yelling out Minghao’s window.

“I’m only a little tipsy!” Jeonghan replies. Seungcheol, from the driver’s seat, shoots him a look; Jeonghan is _screaming._

They have to wait for the newly arrived bunch to visit the restrooms, which doesn’t take long, mostly because Jeonghan claims he doesn’t have to pee. Mingyu groans internally, though, because that means that once Jeonghan _does_ pee, they’ll be stopping every 15 miles. Breaking the seal is a bitch.

After Joshua, Seokmin, and Chan get back, they climb back into their car, which causes Jihoon to do the same. Then the three driver’s start their cars up and soon enough they’re off, following Seungcheol down the highway in their quest for Memphis.

Mingyu has never gone on a long road trip before. He has no idea what to expect, but he just leans back and allows himself to relax, while he listen to the music that Jun has playing as his hair blows in the wind.

 

~

 

Mingyu _lied_ when he said he didn’t know what to expect from a road trip. He expected singing along to 90s songs, and riding with the windows down, and laughing with his friends while they made memories they’ll cherish for forever.

That is, however, not even _close_ to what he gets.

Forty five minutes into the trip, Jeonghan throws up. Apparently he gets _terribly_ carsick on long trips, and he took Dramamine before they left, but that mixed with the alcohol caused it to be ten times worse. They don’t even get a warning before Seungcheol pulls off of the highway, and next thing Mingyu knows, Jeonghan is on the ground, wretching his insides out.

Joshua is a good person, and an even better friend, because he gets out with the older and coaxes him through it. Mingyu stares out the window in horror, while Jun gags in the front seat.

It _would have_ been fine after that, but that’s not how things go, which is why their car ends up with an extra person after the incident. Chan, apparently, cannot stand the smell Jeonghan brings back into the car with him, and has to switch cars, or else he’ll throw up. He ends up in the back with Mingyu and Wonwoo, Wonwoo wedged in between them, all of them uncomfortable and a little annoyed.

Mingyu is glad that Seokmin is asleep in the back of the SUV, because there’s no way they could fit four people in the back seat. Jihoon’s little two-door car wouldn’t be able to accommodate him either.

It’s supposed to be smooth-going after that. Wonwoo even leans up against Mingyu the entire time, dozes off for a few minutes here and there when the conversation in the car dies down. Except, it’s not smooth-going, because two hours later, they have to pull into the parking lot of a sketchy gas station so that Soonyoung can go _blow ass._

Hotdogs, apparently, are not his friend. Jihoon, the entire time his boyfriend is in the bathroom, tells everyone that he’s going to leave the older. He doesn’t, because despite what he says he’s deeply in love with Soonyoung (for whatever reason), but it’s convincing. Mingyu wouldn’t even mind.

They’re okay for four hours after that. They have to stop once so that Seungkwan and Joshua can pee, but it only takes a couple of minutes, and then they’re back on the road. Chan and Minghao sleep for a lot of the time, while Jun and Wonwoo engage in a conversation about Theta stuff, Mingyu listening on like he understands even though he doesn't. He mostly just gazes out the window in a trance.

The only reason he breaks out of it is because Wonwoo nudges him. He turns to his left and finds Wonwoo looking up at him, eyes wide. Mingyu can’t help but smile down at him.

“You okay?” the older asks. Mingyu nods, which causes Wonwoo to grin. “Sorry this isn’t...ideal.”

Wonwoo has his feet curled up on top of the cooler, because there’s nowhere else for them to go. Chan is leaning on him, his head on Wonwoo’s shoulder, fast asleep. Minghao is snoring slightly in the passenger seat, with Jun’s hand on his thigh. Wonwoo is right; it isn’t ideal, but it works. Mingyu isn’t mad.

“It’s fine.” Mingyu snorts. “Lot’s of stories to tell to our future kids.”

Mingyu realizes that that sounds like he’s referring to _his and Wonwoo’s future kids,_ as in, the kids that they’ll have _together,_ and is about to explain but Wonwoo just laughs and leans his face into Mingyu’s shoulder.

Mingyu feels Wonwoo’s grin pressing into his skin through his t shirt, and immediately thinks _I love you._ It causes him to freeze up, and stop breathing for a second, while he stares down at the top of Wonwoo’s head with wide eyes.

“Uh, Mingyu?” Wonwoo says as he looks up again, concern written across his face. “Are you alright? You got all stiff.”

“Fine.” Mingyu mutters, but his voice breaks in the middle of the word. “I’m fine. I just, uh, have to pee. It hit me.”

Wonwoo snorts, and taps on Jun’s shoulder, who holds his thumb up. Luckily there’s a few gas stations coming up off of an exit, and Mingyu doesn’t care which one Jun takes him to, he just needs to get out of the car _right about now._ Jun is in the front now, because Seungcheol didn’t want to have to worry about leading the caravan _and_ making sure that Jeonghan is okay, so the older just simply pulls into the first parking lot he comes up on and shuts his car off.

Mingyu is out of his seat before the other two cars are even parked. He nearly slams the door behind him, but he only does so because he knows that Minghao is a light sleeper and it will wake him up. The minute he is in the building, and on his way to the bathroom, he pulls out his phone and texts the younger.

 

**come to the bathroom right now pls don’t tell anyone i told you to come <**

 

He doesn’t wait for a reply, just pockets his phone and pushes the one-stall bathroom door open. He doesn’t lock it behind him, and instead goes straight for the sink, leaning up against it and looking into the mirror.

Love. Fucking _love._ He fucking loves Wonwoo, a lot apparently, which isn’t even a problem, he just…

He loves Wonwoo.

“What the fuck happened?” Minghao’s voice says, quietly, as he pushes the door open behind Mingyu. Mingyu spins around and he must look crazy, or something, because Minghao’s eyebrows skyrocket.

“I love Wonwoo.”

“You love Wonwoo?”

“I just had a revelation. In the car. He laughed into my shoulder and I realized I fucking love him.”

“Are you sure?” Minghao asks. Mingyu groans and nods; he’s sure. “You haven’t known him for very long.”

“For four months. I know it’s not that long but…”

“Hey, it’s fine, it’s not like there’s a specific time you have to hit before you can officially love someone.” Minghao says. He places a hand on Mingyu’s shoulder and sighs. “Don’t tell him in the car.”

“I’m not going to tell him in the car.” Mingyu says, side-eyeing his best friend. “That’s a horrible way to tell someone you love them.”

Minghao laughs, Mingyu sighs. He’s having a crisis and all Minghao can do is laugh.

“I’m not crazy, right? Like, this is for real, I’m not just hallucinating or whatever, right?”

“You’re weird.” Minghao snorts. “What are you feeling right now?”

“Like I can’t breath. I’m pretty sure I’m going to get back to the car and pass out when I see him.”

“Honestly I’ve never been in love so I can’t really help you. Maybe invest in Soonyoung’s help, or something.” Minghao suggests. Mingyu isn’t opposed to it, but he needs to get back out to the car before Wonwoo thinks something is up, so he can’t exactly call the older in right now.

“Text him.” Minghao prompts. Mingyu sighs.

“I can’t, not with Wonwoo sitting right next to me.”

“Then sit in the front, we’ll trade.” Minghao pulls the door open and he hasn’t really helped much, but Mingyu feels a little better, a little less like he’s going to puke now. “I’ll go out first and tell everyone you felt sick, and need to sit in the front for awhile.”

“Okay.” Mingyu nods. Minghao gives him a small smile and then heads back out to the car.

Mingyu turns back to the sink before he goes back out, looking into the mirror so that he can compose himself a little. He looks clammy, which isn’t good, but is at the same time because it adds to the ‘carsick’ story. Deciding that he can’t really do anything else in the dimly lit bathroom, Mingyu pushes the door open, and makes his way back to Jun’s car.

When he pulls the door to the passenger’s seat open, he’s immediately met with Wonwoo’s face, which is pushed in between the two front seats. He looks concerned, and mildly upset, but not at Mingyu.

“Minghao said you felt sick, are you alright? Do you need anything?”

“I’m okay.” Mingyu chokes out. The concern coming from the older, mixed with his new found _feeling,_ is actually starting to make him feel nauseous. “Just need to sit up front, and get some fresh air.”

Jun rolls down his window then, before he starts up his car again, and begins to back out of his parking space. Wonwoo’s face doesn’t falter the entire time.

“Are you sure you’re okay? We can wait for a bit before we go again.” Wonwoo offers. Jun, however, is already on his way back to the highway. Mingyu smiles and shakes his head ‘no’, and then turns to face forward, because being backwards in a car actually does make him feel a little carsick.

“Okay.” Wonwoo mumbles from behind him, and then leans back into his seat. Mingyu pulls out his phone and brings up Soonyoung’s contact.

 

**I need your help <**

**> what’s up?????**

**I think i love wonwoo <**

**> okay was not expecting that. why do you want my help?**

**because you love jihoon? right ? <**

**> ya, ur right. so when did you realize this? **

**right before we pulled into the gas station <**

**> well shit. hmmmmm. does he know? **

**why would he know i literally just found out myself? <**

**> bad question**

**> sorry **

**> are you sure? like**

**> what do you ~feel~**

**like i fucking love him? <**

**actually i don’t know <**

**he just fucking smiled into my shoulder and the first thing i though was damn i love you <**

**> oh boy you got it bad**

**> the only thing i can tell you is to tell him soon**

**> me and jihoon kept it from each other for forever and it turned out bad**

**you guys are happy now tho right? <**

**you seem happy <**

**> oh ya but the beginning was shitty **

**> just….tell him**

**okay <**

 

Tell him. That’s all Mingyu gets out of Soonyoung. He could have figured that out himself, honestly. He’s not so insecure that he feels like he can’t ever tell the older. Either Wonwoo loves him back, or he doesn’t. And if he doesn’t...it’ll sting, but Mingyu will get over it.

What Mingyu is really having trouble with, is determining if this is real or not. He thinks it is, but he wants to be sure before he does his big gay confession. So he does the only thing he can think of at the moment, that might help his situation.

 

**hey mom. when did you realize you loved dad? <**

**> Hello Mingyu, it’s nice to hear from my long lost son. Why are you asking? **

 

Mingyu will admit that, like most college students, he does not contact his parents as much as he probably should. He’s just glad that his mom shares his same sarcastic humor, and doesn’t actually get mad at him.

 

**so don’t freak out but I met this boy <**

**his name is wonwoo and he’s really nice, he treats me well so don’t worry <**

 

Mingyu’s parents are, thankfully, totally supportive of him. They had just told him they loved him no matter what when he officially came out, which is why he’s so comfortable talking about this kind of stuff with his mom.

 

**and i think i love him? i’m pretty sure but not 100% because i’ve never really been in love before <**

**> Sweetheart, you’ve never been in love before. But tell me more about this boy. **

 

His mom is right. It’s not ‘never really been in love before’, but instead ‘definitely never been in love before’.

 

**he’s a junior. he’s majoring in psychology and he’s in a frat. i’m actually on my way to his formal right now <**

 

Mingyu never told his mom why she was helping him pick out a suit, just said that he needed her help. She didn’t question it; she’s good about giving him his space, and letting him talk to her about things when she wants to.

 

**> What makes you think you’re in love with him? **

**i don’t really know but we were sitting in the back seat and he was laughing into my shoulder and the first thing i thought was i love you <**

**> I realized I loved your dad when he took me to a fair. We were playing a game and he won me a stuffed animal and when he turned to me, the first thing I thought was ‘I love you’. **

 

Mingyu grimaces as he types out his reply.

 

**that’s so cliche i’m going to puke < **

**> Haha. **

 

Mingyu knows that that’s a sarcastic ‘haha’, and snorts. Jun shoots him a look out of the corner of his eye.

 

**so do you think i love him? am i crazy? <**

**> I think you’re the only one that can determine that, but you’ve never talked to me about a boy before, so I’d say your chances are looking pretty good. **

**what if he doesn’t love me back? <**

**> He’d be pretty stupid not to.**

 

Mingyu bites back a smile while he reads his mom’s reply. He misses her, if he’s being honest, and their conversation isn’t helping the feeling go away. It is, however, making him realize that what he’s feeling is valid and that he isn’t just having a moment, which he’s grateful for. He voices this all to his mom, and when he looks back down at his phone, he finds the most _Kim family_ response ever.

 

**> My baby is in love! I need to meet this boy ASAP. Would he be willing to come for Christmas? **

**mom omg i haven’t even told him yet calm down <**

**> I’m just happy for you! I’m telling your father at dinner tonight, expect a call from him sometime soon. **

**not this weekend remember i’m at formal <**

**> That makes my nervous. Please be safe, but have fun. Call me when you get back! **

**i will. thanks for helping me. I love you <**

**> I love you too. **

 

Mingyu wraps up his conversation with his mom right as his phone notifies him that he has 25% battery left. He locks it and then turns around, finding Wonwoo looking down at his own.

“Hey.” he says quietly, because Chan is asleep again, and Minghao looks halfway there. “Did you bring your portable charger?”

Wonwoo looks up and nods, and he doesn’t even have to ask Mingyu why he’s asking before he pulls the charger out of his backpack and hands it over.

“How are you feeling? Better?”

“Much.” Mingyu sighs, offering a smile. His conversation with his mom had definitely helped and he’s a little anxious because he has to tell Wonwoo how he’s feeling at _some_ point, but for right now, he’s okay.

“Do you want to move back here?”

Mingyu realizes how _uncomfortable_ Wonwoo looks in between the two younger boys, and his smile widens. He nods.

“Next stop.”

“Okay.” Wonwoo leans back in his seat, grinning. “Can’t wait.”

Mingyu chuckles and turns back around, while he plugs his phone into the charger.

 _Me either,_ he thinks.

 

~

 

Wonwoo is passed out cold on Mingyu’s chest, snoring lightly, with his mouth hanging wide open. Mingyu’s arm is around him. They had last stopped two hours ago, and are now only 45 minutes away from the hotel they’re staying at. It’s getting dark out and Mingyu wonders if they’re even going to make it out to the bars when they arrive, because everyone is either asleep, or almost there.

He’s been group snapchatting with Soonyoung and Seokmin, who are the only two people from their cars, besides the drivers, that are still awake. Mingyu’s been sending pictures of Chan, who’s head is in Wonwoo’s lap, fast asleep, as well as Minghao, who’s curled up in his seat with Jun’s jacket thrown over him.

Seokmin’s car is in no better position. Jeonghan and Joshua are both in the back, while Seokmin is in the front now. Jeonghan is laying vertical in the seats with his head in Joshua’s lap. Joshua is propped up against the left door, with his fingers still carded through the older’s hair, sound asleep. The video Seokmin sends shows that Jeonghan is snoring.

Soonyoung’s car, however, is the funniest. Jihoon looks _dead,_ and every time Soonyoung takes a video of him, the shorter man grumbles and pushes the phone away.

Seungkwan has his feet up in Vernon’s lap. He’s balled up in his seat, with a blanket thrown over him, and an _eyemask_ on. Vernon’s head is bent backwards and he’s sitting up straight, even though he’s dead to the world. Neither of them are making any noise and Soonyoung has thrown pretzels at them every 30 minutes, just to make sure that they’re both alive.

So needless to say, Mingyu has not gotten his fill of singing 90s songs and making memories. He’s content though; his shirt is definitely going to smell like Wonwoo, and he’s not cold, even though the windows are still down.

By the time they eventually do get to their hotel, some of them have woken up, and everyone is a little more lively. Wonwoo, however, is still clonked out on Mingyu’s chest, unaware that they have arrived. Mingyu doesn’t want to wake him, because he’s looks peaceful and _beautiful,_ but there’s no way he can carry him along with all of their luggage.

“Wonwoo.” he says quietly, moving slightly so that the older moves with him. He sits up and makes sure to hold Wonwoo straight, who doesn’t really wake up, just groans and buries his face into Mingyu tee shirt.

_I love him._

Mingyu gulps.

“Hey, Wonwoo.” He pushes the hair out of Wonwoo’s eyes. “Wake up, we’re here.”

“Noooo.” Wonwoo mutters, blinking the sleep out of his eyes while he sits himself up. “‘M tired.”

“Guess that means we’re staying in tonight.”

They’re the only ones left in the car. Minghao is already dragging his stuff to the entrance of the hotel.

“‘M kidding.” Wonwoo mumbles. He licks his lips and then looks up at Mingyu, small smile on his face.

“Good morning.” Mingyu chuckles. He only says that because he’s afraid that if he doesn’t, he’ll say something he’ll regret, like _I fucking love you so much oh my god my heart hurts right now because you’re fucking adorable._

“How long was I asleep?”

“About three hours.” Mingyu answers. He unbuckles his seatbelt, because he hasn’t done that yet, and then opens the door of the car so that he can climb out. He holds it open while Wonwoo follows him, dragging both of their backpacks as well as the cooler with him. Mingyu takes his and the cooler from the older, and then they walk around to the back, where Jun is unloading their stuff.

Mingyu carries his and Wonwoo’s duffel bag in, as well as the cooler, while Wonwoo carries their suit bags over his arms. They all gather in the lobby of the hotel after the cars have been parked, because Joshua has all of the rooms for the frat under his name, so he has to check them in. Mingyu wonders how that works for the rest of the frat, but doesn’t think much on it, especially when Joshua starts handing all of them their keycards.

“Mingyu, Wonwoo, you guys are with Vernon and Seungkwan.”

“No.” Mingyu whips around, eyes wild. _No, no, no._ “You said we had a room to ourselves!”

“Budget cuts.” Joshua offers as an explanation, shrugging. “Sorry.”

“Hey, it’s fine.” Wonwoo mutters from beside Mingyu, chuckling lightly. Mingyu turns to him and sighs.

“I just…”

“It’s not like we can’t do it when we get back.”

 _Oh._ Mingyu smirks. He’s not going to tell Wonwoo that he’s more mad at the fact that he can’t tell him _he fucking loves him_ in private, so he just follows the older until they get to the elevators. They join the rest of the boys on one, cramped but still fitting, and then ride up to their floor, which is the fifth.

They’re in room 517, right next to Jihoon, Soonyoung, Jun and Minghao, across from Seokmin and Chan, and catty corner from  Seungcheol, Joshua, and Jeonghan. Mingyu wants to know why _the last three_ got their own room.

The room is actually nice, though, once they do finally get to it. It’s one of the last ones on the floor and it has a little mini kitchen, with a flat screen TV and two queen sized beds. Mingyu sets his stuff down on the ground in front of the first bed, claiming it, and then he sits down in the desk chair. Wonwoo sets their suits down on the actual bed and then looks around for his own place to sit. Mingyu, feeling brave, pats his lap, and Wonwoo laughs at him even though he makes his way towards the younger. He plops himself down and throws his arms over Mingyu’s neck, grinning.

“I don’t know if you heard, but we’re going to dinner in about 30 minutes.” Wonwoo informs him, as Vernon and Seungkwan walk in. Seungkwan gags upon seeing them and Vernon just snorts in their direction as he sets their luggage down on their bed.

“Do I have to look nice?”

“You look nice now.” Wonwoo tells him, and Seungkwan gags again. “We’re going to the bars afterwards though.”

It’s decided; Mingyu has to change. He groans and taps Wonwoo’s hip so the older will stand up, that way he can change into a better pair of jeans and a nicer shirt. Wonwoo chuckles at him and stands willingly, before he goes to his own bag to dig out clothes to wear.

They get changed together in the bathroom, while Vernon and Seungkwan use the room. Mingyu styles his hair so that it doesn’t look as dead, while Wonwoo just runs his hands through his. They’re ready with time to spare, so they spend that time slowly making their way down to the lobby, where they wait with Jun and Minghao.

Everyone else joins them after a couple of minutes, looking more alive and put together than before. The last ones to arrive are Vernon and Seungkwan and they look disheveled, slightly, and Vernon’s hair is a mess, and Mingyu grimaces because they’ve _tainted the room._

“Who’s DD?” Jeonghan asks when the younger two make their way over to the group. He’s no longer holding his water bottle but Mingyu knows from Seokmin’s snapchats that the older must still be a little tipsy.

“Chan.” at least four people say at the same time. Mingyu turns and finds the youngest of them all rolling his eyes, but he’s not protesting. Seungcheol grins and tosses the boys his keys.

“You’re in charge.”

“Great, so let’s stay in.” Chan offers. Everyone laughs at him and then start walking towards Seungcheol’s SUV, ignoring the boy’s complaints. Mingyu follows; Chan had to have known this was coming.

 _Poor kid,_ he thinks.

Mingyu’s not sure how they’re all going to fit in Seungcheol’s SUV, it’s not _that_ big, but once they all start piling in, they somehow make it work. Wonwoo ends up on his lap, and Seokmin and Soonyoung end up on the floor, and Joshua has to sit on Seungcheol’s lap in the front, and Jeonghan offers to lay across the floor in the trunk, but they make it. Mingyu just prays that they won’t get pulled over.

The restaurant they end up at is some bar and grill in the downtown area. They don’t have reservations so they have to wait, but even though it’s a Friday night, they only have to wait about 30 minutes. In the meantime, they all make their way to the bar at least once, using their fake IDs or having either Seungcheol, Joshua, or Jeonghan buy them something. None of the employee's notice, and if they do, they don’t care.

They end up being seated at a large table in the back, next to a bunch of windows that face the Mississippi River. It’s a nice view, Mingyu does have to admit.

He’s looking at the _overpriced_ _menu_ after having ordered a water when Wonwoo taps his shoulder, and gestures down to the menu open in front of him.

“Do you want to share something?”

Mingyu has no idea what the portion sizes are here, but his wallet has been thinning steadily and he wants to be able to support himself for the entire weekend, so he nods. The smile Wonwoo gives him is worth it itself.

They decide on a pasta/chicken dish that the waitress recommends. Truthfully, Mingyu had wanted a steak, but Wonwoo had looked so excited about the damn chicken, so he gave in. When Mingyu looks up he finds Minghao, who’s sitting across from him, staring at him. He quirks an eyebrow.

“Whipped.” Minghao mouths. Mingyu picks his straw wrapper up and balls it up, before he throws it at Minghao’s face. Jun snickers at him; Minghao glares.

Surprisingly, the service is really fast for how busy the restaurant is. Every time they order a new drink they get it within a couple of minutes, and their waitress keeps the free bread coming, refilling the baskets every time they go empty. Mingyu is content. He’s even happier with the fact that Wonwoo keeps his hand on his thigh the entire time.

When their food does come, all of them dig in, starving from their day of traveling with a lack of food. Only Mingyu’s car had had snacks, and nobody really bought anything, trying to save their money. They eat their dinner so fast that the waitress is visibly surprised when she comes to check on them. No one needs a box (and Mingyu has to admit, the pasta was good).

“How are we splitting the checks?” the young girls asks as she whips out her notepad, ready to take their money. She starts at the head of the table, with Seungcheol, and then works her way down to where Seungkwan and Vernon are sitting.

Seungcheol pays for himself, Joshua, Jeonghan, and Chan (for being the DD, he explains). Jun pays for Minghao and himself. Jihoon pays for Soonyoung, and then tacks on Seokmin, because Soonyoung tells him to. Vernon pays for himself and Seungkwan. Mingyu is about to whip out his credit card to pay for he and Wonwoo, but Wonwoo beats him to it.

“Next time.” Wonwoo says, once he notices Mingyu’s deflated expression.

 _“Next time.”_ Mingyu scoffs. “You’re annoying.”

“Yeah, I know. You love it.”

Mingyu has to take a sip of his beer so that he doesn’t say _‘I know I do’_ back.

They get their receipts back pretty quickly after paying. Everyone leaves a decent tip, and then they make their way out of the restaurant as one big mass. Only Jeonghan stumbles.

“Where to next?” Vernon asks from the back of the group. He has his arm around Seungkwan, who’s visibly cold. Mingyu shivers; it is a little chilly.

“Bars are the next block over.” Joshua explains. “We can walk there.”

No one disagrees, so they all begin walking, following Joshua as he leads them down the busy street. There are a ton of people out, mingling around or walking to somewhere like they are. Mingyu, who’s always had a protective instinct, reaches down and tangles his fingers together with Wonwoo’s. Wonwoo looks up and smiles at him, his eyes sparkling under the night light.

“Didn’t want you to get lost.” Mingyu explains. Wonwoo snorts.

“My savior.” he jokes. He’s not drunk by any means, but his face is flushed, which suggests that he may be a little tipsy. Mingyu pulls him closer, and blames it on the cold as he tries to justify it to himself. Luckily, the older doesn’t protest.

The first bar they stop at is on the corner of the street. It’s actually more of a club, and despite it only being around 10:00, it already looks busy. The bouncer out front barely bats an eye at all of their fake IDs, and only marks Chan’s hand with a giant ‘M’, since he doesn’t have one. It isn’t a problem, though, since he’s the DD.

The first person to separate from the group and head to the bar is Jeonghan, who’s closely followed by Seungcheol and Soonyoung. Jihoon, who doesn’t get much of a choice, follows his boyfriend. Soonyoung had definitely drank the most at dinner.

“Do you want something to drink?” Mingyu asks once they find a booth towards the back of the club, one that will fit their entire group. Maybe not comfortably, but it’ll work.

“Yes.” Wonwoo replies, unlacing his fingers from Mingyu’s. “I’ll go get us one. What do you want?”

“I can get it.” Mingyu argues. Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

“Next time.”

“You said that at the restaurant.”

Wonwoo shrugs, and then leaves Mingyu’s side, walking up to the bar with a little sway to his step. Mingyu bites back a smile while he watches the older go; he’s fucking sexy.

Mingyu’s eyes never leave the older while he’s ordering their drinks. He watches him actually order them, and then keeps them trained on him as a man walks up to his side and begins talking to him. He’s flirting, Mingyu can tell. Wonwoo talks back, but it’s clear as day that he’s uncomfortable. The bartender sets Wonwoo’s drink down onto the counter and Wonwoo takes a sip of it, nodding as the other man says something. He sets his drink back down and then glances at the bartender, who hurries to pour Mingyu’s beer, before he collects both glasses and makes his getaway.

He has a scowl on his face while he makes his way back to Mingyu. Mingyu smirks at him.

“Make a new friend?”

“Fuck off.” Wonwoo mumbles. He hands Mingyu his beer and then slides into the booth next to him, sipping at his own drink again. It’s something fruity; Wonwoo has expressed that he’d rather drink that than _wheat tea._ Mingyu doesn’t care, as long as it gets him drunk.

They’re joined in the booth by Chan, Vernon, and Seungkwan, who all look mildly uncomfortable but not bored. Chan is sipping on a water, while Seungkwan has _something_ red, and Vernon has a beer bottle.

Mingyu scans his eyes across the dance floor below them, trying to pick out his other friends, while Wonwoo strikes up a conversation with Seungkwan. Neither of them are into the dancing.

He finds Soonyoung and Seokmin in the middle of the dance floor, Seokmin with two shots in his hands, Soonyoung with a half-drained cup in his. They’ve been in the club for _maybe_ 15 minutes, and Mingyu can already tell the two are well on their way to tipsy-drunk. _Jihoon’s going to be babysitting tonight,_ he thinks.

Speaking of Jihoon: Mingyu spots him towards the edge of the dance floor with Minghao and Jun, all of which have their own drink, and who are watching the previous two in amusement.

He then looks around for the last three from their group. He finds Seungcheol with Joshua at the bar, buying drinks. Jeonghan is basically hanging off of Seungcheol’s back, in the process of downing a shot.

 _Seungcheol will be babysitting too,_ Mingyu thinks. Everyone thinks that Joshua is the angel of the group, the designated DD always, but that’s never the case. Most of the time he gets _as_ bad as Jeonghan, because he’s tiny, and has no alcohol tolerance.

“Hey.” Wonwoo breaks Mingyu out of his trance. “I’m going to head to the bathroom.”

“Want me to go with you?” Mingyu offers. Wonwoo snorts and shakes his head.

“I’ll be okay.”

“Okay.” Mingyu pulls Wonwoo’s drink towards him, so that the older won’t knock it off when he stands up from the booth. “I’ll be here, waiting for you to get back.”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes but nods, and then heads off towards the bathroom, a small smile playing at his lips. Mingyu grins at him as he goes.

He _is_ whipped, but it’s fine.

While Wonwoo is in the bathroom, he occupies his time by talking to Vernon. Vernon also has a very low alcohol tolerance, so he’s a little tipsy, leaning into Seungkwan while he talks. Seungkwan isn’t bothered by it though, and just continues to enjoy his red _thing_ while he converses with Chan.

“Soonyoung told me you loved Wonwoo.” Vernon says out of the blue, after he’s done telling Mingyu about how good his dinner was. Mingyu chokes on his beer, which burns as it goes up his nose. He gapes at the younger.

“What?”

“He can’t keep a secret.” Vernon shrugs. “Do you really love him?”

Mingyu curses Soonyoung six ways til Sunday in his head, but sighs as he prepares to answer.

“Yeah.”

“Hm.” Vernon nods. “Good for you. Love is cool. I love him.”

He points to Seungkwan. Seungkwan blushes, and pushes his finger away, although he can’t keep the fond look off of his face. Vernon cheeses at him and Mingyu briefly wonders if he and Wonwoo are this disgusting.

“Okay.” he mumbles. Vernon gives him two thumbs up and then turns to his boyfriend, telling him something that Mingyu can’t hear. Chan looks uncomfortable, though, so he’s not sure he would want to hear it anyways.

Wonwoo comes back from the bathroom a few minutes after that. Mingyu greets him, but the older just gives him a small smile, and slides into the booth silently.

“You okay?” Mingyu asks. Wonwoo nods, and then sips at his drink.

“Stomach kind of hurts, but I’m fine. It’s probably just the food.”

Mingyu had the _same exact thing_ and he’s fine, but he doesn’t mention it. He just throws his arm across Wonwoo’s shoulders and pulls him closer. Wonwoo melts into his side, and suddenly everything is fine again, as Vernon strikes up another random conversation with them.

Except everything is not fine. Not even ten minutes later, Wonwoo shivers, and digs himself deeper into Mingyu’s side. Mingyu looks down at him, concern written all across his face.

“Cold?”

“No, ‘m just shiverin’.” Wonwoo mumbles. Mingyu notices how pale he is, and immediately becomes worried, especially because Wonwoo’s words are a little slurred. He only drank one beer at the restaurant, and all he’s had is ¾ of this drink he bought at the bar, so he _can’t_ be drunk. His tolerance is way higher than that.

“Are you sure?” Mingyu doesn’t have a jacket to give the older, so he settles for slipping his arm lower and tugging Wonwoo even closer. “Do you feel okay.”

“Yeah.” Wonwoo says. He nods, and then drops the subject all together, turning back to Seungkwan and continuing to talk to him about his major. He looks out of it though, and his eyes are kind of glazed over, so Mingyu keeps an eye on him.

About 5 minutes later Soonyoung walks up to the booth, and tells them all that they need to get up and come dance, because they’re being boring. Mingyu would rather _not_ but a half-drunk Soonyoung is persistent as hell, so he complies. He stands and then waits for Wonwoo to join him so that they can go down together.

Wonwoo, however, stumbles when he tries to get out of the booth. Mingyu has to balance him by grabbing his elbow. It freaks him out, a little bit.

“Seriously, Wonwoo, we can grab a cab and head back if you’re not feeling well.” he insists. He’d rather leave early than have Wonwoo be in pain the entire night.

“No. ‘M fine.” Wonwoo argues. His eyebrows are scrunched together in determination, and when he begins walking, he stumbles a little into the bannister. Mingyu reaches out and grabs him. He trusts Wonwoo, but he doesn’t know what’s going on with him, so he stays close. Maybe the drink had just been really strong.

They make it to the dance floor without anything else happening. Wonwoo still looks pale and his eyes are still glassy, but he’s standing and doing just fine dancing along to the music.

And maybe that should have been Mingyu’s first clue, because Wonwoo doesn’t _dance._ Ever. He does, though, for at least 20 minutes, before he reaches forward and grasps on to the front of Mingyu’s shirt.

“I need to go outside.” he mumbles. Mingyu doesn’t have to be told twice before he’s dragging Wonwoo out the front doors of the club and around the corner to an alleyway that’s secluded and out of sight.

They barely make it. As soon as they’re off the sidewalk Wonwoo bends over and retches everything that’s in his stomach onto the pavement. Mingyu places his hand on the older’s back and rubs circles into it, trying to sooth him. When Wonwoo stands back up he has tears streaming down his face, and looks like a ghost. He’s shaking and clammy to the touch and Mingyu doesn’t care what Wonwoo says, they’re going back to the hotel.

“We’re heading back.” Mingyu mumbles, pulling Wonwoo to his side as he dials Jihoon’s number on his phone. The older male had looked the least drunk out of all of them as Mingyu had dragged Wonwoo out of the club.

“Okay.” Wonwoo mumbles.

They don’t get anywhere, though. Mingyu is on the fourth ring when he feels a dead weight drop in his arms. He looks down and finds Wonwoo hunched over, passed out, with his head lolled back.

Jihoon picks up. Mingyu doesn’t stop yelling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yikes


	14. Chapter 14

“Calm down.” Jihoon says, for probably the twentieth time in the past three minutes. Thing is, though, Mingyu  _ can’t _ calm down. He’s pacing in the alleyway, hands in his hair, breathing rapid while Jun checks Wonwoo’s pulse and breath rate. 

“He’s breathing, but it’s shallow and his pulse is really slow.” Jun announces, turning to face the rest of the group. Everyone is in the alley now, standing around Wonwoo, who’s passed out cold on the ground. “Did someone call an ambulance?”

Minghao points to the phone held up to his ear, before he goes back to talking to the receptionist. Mingyu can’t hear anything he’s saying, but he supposes his friend is hitting on all of the important details. Mingyu had yelled at all of them when they had arrived in the alley after he got off of the phone with Jihoon, saying that something was seriously wrong with Wonwoo and that he didn’t know what to do.

He’s not drunk, but he feels like he is. His head is spinning and all he wants to do is hold Wonwoo in his arms and make everything go away. They should have never even gone out.

“Mingyu.” Suddenly there are two hands on his shoulders, and when Mingyu looks up, he finds Seungcheol staring right at him. “Mingyu, you have to calm down. You’re crying.”

Mingyu wasn’t even really aware that he had been crying. He quickly reaches up and wipes the tears away, sniffing once as he looks back down at Wonwoo.

The older is as pale as a ghost, with a sheen of sweat coating his forehead. Mingyu can’t even make out his chest rising and it makes him want to sob, because he’s  _ scared. _

“The ambulance is on their way, okay? They’ll take care of him.”

Mingyu nods but it’s not as if he believes Seungcheol. Not when Wonwoo looks dead on the ground, surrounded by Jun and Seokmin, because Jun is the only health care major of the group and Seokmin knows CPR.

The ambulance ends up only taking a few minutes to arrive at the club, and Mingyu only registers that they’ve arrived because Seungcheol steers him its way to answer questions. While they load Wonwoo up onto a gurney, after they initially check him over, an EMT asks Mingyu about what’s happened.

“I don’t know.” Mingyu chokes out. “He didn’t even drink that much, he only had a beer and then half of whatever he bought at the bar.”

“Did he buy his own drink at the bar?” the EMT asks. He has a notepad and is writing what Mingyu says down, that way he can use the information to better help Wonwoo. Mingyu notices that they’re now loading the older boy up into the truck.

“Yes.” Mingyu nods. “Can I ride with him?”

“Of course.” the EMT doesn’t even question it, just waves Mingyu towards the truck. Mingyu goes, and doesn’t look back at his friends while he climbs up into the back. He takes an empty seat on the bench next to where Wonwoo is lying, and immediately grabs his hand, while he watches the other EMT’s hook him up to an oxygen mask and an IV drip.

“Did you watch him buy his own drink?” the EMT asks then, after the back door to the truck has been shut. Mingyu doesn’t look up from Wonwoo’s face as he answers. 

“Yes.” he nods. He doesn’t understand why these questions are relevant.

“Was anyone around him at the time, while he was up at the bar? Maybe someone was talking to him?”

“There was one guy.” Mingyu looks up, his eyebrows quirked. “Why?”

“We’re not for sure, more testing needs to be done and he needs to be examined by a doctor, but we think your friend may have been drugged. He’s showing all of the symptoms.”

If Mingyu had been in the right mind, he probably would have gasped and asked  _ ‘how?’. _ He is not in the right mind, though, so he just stares up at the EMT in horror.

“I was watching him the entire time.” he mutters, weakly. The EMT gives him a sympathetic look.

“The bastards that do this are good at it. It’s likely that the person was so subtle about it, no one would have been able to notice.” the guy explains. Mingyu’s hand clutches tighter at Wonwoo’s cold, limp one. “It’s not your fault. This can happen to anyone, at any moment.”

Mingyu will admit that he had thought that being  _ roofied _ only happens to girls. In school, they never teach you about it happening to boys. They always warn the girls, but not anyone else. He’s shocked, to say the least. And mad at himself.

_ How could this have happened? _

He ponders on it the entire way to the hospital. He watched Wonwoo the whole time he was at the bar, and even though the man who had flirted with him had been standing close, Mingyu finds it hard to picture him slipping something into Wonwoo’s drink without the older noticing. More than anything, though, he blames himself. He should have gotten the drinks, should have  _ protected _ Wonwoo. He let this happen, pretty much, and as he peers down at the older boy, he wishes more than anything to trade places with him.

When they arrive at the hospital, it’s pure chaos. The doors to the truck are thrown open and suddenly there are doctors and nurses everywhere. Wonwoo is pushed forward, causing his hand to be ripped from Mingyu’s, and all Mingyu can do is sit there and stare. He only climbs out of the truck because a nurse waves him over to her.

“Possible rhophylac overdose victim.” an EMT shouts while they transfer everything over to the hospital staff. He rambles off everything he found on Wonwoo’s driver’s license and Mingyu watches in horror, frozen in his spot.

“Sir?” he’s shaken out of his trance by the nurse, who places her hand on Mingyu’s upper arm. “What’s your relation to Wonwoo?”

“Boyfriend.” Mingyu replies on impulse. He watches as Wonwoo is wheeled through automatic doors, and he wants to follow so desperately, but his feet won’t allow him.

“Okay. They’re taking him to get some testing done, in the meantime, we need you to wait in the waiting room. Can I show you where that is?”

Mingyu wonders if this is all actually happening, because he feels like it isn’t. He can only nod in response to the nurse. She understands, though, and doesn’t say anything else while she leads him into the hospital and to the waiting room. It’s probably a very short walk, but to Mingyu, it feels like it takes hours. 

The nurse tells him something when they arrive in the small waiting room, before she turns and heads back in the direction that they came from. Mingyu doesn’t hear it. Instead, he collapses into a chair once the woman is out of sight, and lets his head fall into his hands.

Not even ten hours ago, Mingyu had realized that he  _ Loved _ Wonwoo, with a capital ‘L’. He gets butterflies in his stomach any time the older boy smiles at him, and his laugh is his favorite sound in the word. It’s all incredibly cheesy and if someone had told Mingyu he’d be feeling this way six months ago, he would have laughed in their face and then ignored them for the time being.

He remembers the first time he met Wonwoo. It hadn’t been long ago, just a few months or so, but Mingyu remembers it like it had happened yesterday. He had been drunk,  _ so drunk, _ and even a little high, but the memories come back to him clearly. Wonwoo, sitting on the ground, ready to light up a pipe like it was nothing. His raven hair a slight mess, his clothes engulfing him because he doesn’t own anything that actually fits him. Mingyu should have known then that that boy was going to steal his heart.

And even if he hadn’t realized it when they were sitting on the ground, smoking and talking, maybe Mingyu should have clued in when they were having sex. Because...it didn’t  _ feel _ like he was hooking up with someone. No, it felt like something more than that. It’s not a feeling that Mingyu can describe, but it’s one that he’ll remember forever. He hopes he can feel it again and again, not just during sex, for the rest of his life.

And honestly, that thought scares him. Terrifies him, actually, because he’s 19, and only a sophomore in college, but already he can see a future with Wonwoo. Nothing is planned out and he has no idea what to expect, he just knows that whatever happens, he wants Wonwoo by his side for it. For everything.

But that thought it thrown out the door when he’s brought back to reality, and looks up from his hands, and realizes he’s still in the hospital waiting room. Wonwoo is  _ sick, _ and Mingyu doesn’t know what’s going to happen to him, and now he’s crying again and he can’t stop it. He just wants the older boy to be okay.

Mingyu doesn’t know how much time passes. Seconds, minutes, hours, he’s not aware. He can’t find a clock to look at either, and somehow, amidst all of the chaos, he’s lost his phone. He’s left alone in the little waiting room, with nothing more than a TV set to a news station and a few magazines to occupy his mind.

That is, until a crowd filters into the room, and catches him off guard. He looks up and finds everyone,  _ all _ of his friends, crowding around him with worried expressions written across their faces. Jeonghan is the first to approach him and Mingyu had sworn that the older was nearing blackout-ness, but he seems fine now. 

“Is he okay? Where is he?” Jeonghan asks, while he crouches down in front of Mingyu. Mingyu can’t help the tears that start up,  _ again, _ and then begin to roll down his cheeks. Jeonghan sighs and reaches forward to wipe them away with his thumb.

“They took him back for testing.” Mingyu mumbles.

“Did they say anything else?” Mingyu looks up and finds Jun looking down at him, tear streaks of his own staining his cheeks. Mingyu had forgotten that Jun had to watch his best friend go through this, while he had been preoccupied with his own feelings. He feels a little bad for being so dramatic back in the alley.

“I forgot what they said exactly, but it was some kind of overdose. They said he was drugged.” Mingyu manages to explain the situation with little more than a whisper, although everyone still hears him. “He got roofied.”

“How...but…” Jun stutters out, obviously confused. “You were watching him, though, right? Did you see anything?”

“No.” And suddenly, Mingyu feels the weight of all eleven eyes on him, causing him to lean back and practically cower in his seat. Joshua notices and walks forward, before he crouches down in front of Mingyu, right next to Jeonghan.

“Hey, it’s not your fault.” he says quietly, reassuring the younger. “People that do these kinds of things are sneaky. It could have happened to anyone.”

“That’s what the paramedic said.” Mingyu chokes out. All of these emotions at once, and he doesn’t know how to control himself.

“I didn’t mean to blame you. It’s not your fault. I’m just in shock, I’m sorry.” Jun explains. His eyes are red again and Mingyu thinks that out of everyone, he probably understands the most how he’s feeling inside.

“Did the doctor say if he’d come update you or not?” Jeonghan asks then. He stands back up from his crouching position, but doesn’t go anywhere, just sits down in the chair next to Mingyu. Mingyu, because he can’t remember  _ what _ the nurse had told him, only shakes his head.

“I’m sure someone will update us. And if not, we’ll go ask in about an hour or so.” Joshua stands up too and takes the seat on Jeonghan’s other side. That prompts everyone else to sit down as well, finding their own chairs around the waiting room. Minghao ends up sitting down next to Mingyu, with Jun on his other side, and doesn’t hesitate before he throws an arm over Mingyu’s shoulders and drags him to his chest.

Mingyu goes without protesting. He buries his face in his best friends shirt and just breathes, calming himself down because for the first time since Wonwoo had passed out, he feels better. Not good, but better.

Mingyu loses track of time once again. They all sit in the room in silence, the only noise being that of the TV and the few times that Seungkwan coughs. Mingyu finds that his face is a little splotchy as well.

Eventually someone does come out to address the situation, and Mingyu is only a little surprised to see that it’s the same nurse from before. He had been expecting someone different, since a couple of hours had to have passed. The nurse looks shocked, though, once she takes in all of the new people in the room, so Mingyu saves her the time and walks over to her, with Jun following close behind.

“Is everyone in here for him?” the nurse asks first, peering around the room at once. Mingyu nods as an explanation. “Okay. I cannot give out a lot of information, but Wonwoo was drugged with ketamine. It was a large dose and unfortunately we had to pump his stomach. He’s asleep right now, and we need to keep him overnight to monitor him, but he should be okay.”

Mingyu doesn’t know what to do with this information. Apparently Jun knows more than him though,  _ which makes sense, _ because the older immediately grabs onto Mingyu’s arm and speaks up with a shaky voice.

“You said large dose. Like...k-hole large dose?”

“You could say that.” the nurse nods, with a sad look on her face. Mingyu needs to know what k-hole means  _ right now. _ “If you’d like to see him, we can take a few of you back at a time. He’s in the ICU right now which means you’re free to stay with him all night if you wish.”

“Okay.” Mingyu croaks, nodding. He turns to Jun, who’s already heading back to the group to relay the information. Mingyu follows him after he reassures the nurse that they’ll be right back.

He arrives to the mob right as Jun is telling them about the visiting hours. Most of them look shocked, so Mingyu supposes that they’ve already heard about the other stuff. He doesn’t offer any of his own words, just listens.

“You and Mingyu go, the rest of us will head back to the hotel.” Seungcheol says, deciding for everyone. Mingyu will never admit it, but he’s glad that Seungcheol proposes the idea. He kind of just wants to be by himself, with Wonwoo, even if that means Jun is there too.

“We’ll come visit tomorrow, when everything calms down.” Joshua says, nodding. Everyone else agrees to some extent, even though Soonyoung looks upset. He doesn’t say anything though, and Mingyu shoots him a grateful smile.

Jun and Mingyu head back to the nurse then, after bidding everyone else a goodbye. The nurse smiles at them and then waves them back, before any of the other boys can even leave the waiting room. Mingyu doesn’t watch as they go, just keeps his gaze forward while he’s led back to the ICU.

For what it’s worth, Mingyu has never been in a hospital like this. He’s only ever visited after someone has had a baby, or gotten out of a minor surgery that went extremely well. He doesn’t know what to expect from the ICU, which is probably why when he’s checked in and handed a visitor's sticker, all he can do is gape.

They haven’t even gotten to Wonwoo’s room, but already Mingyu is overwhelmed by all of the machines and various hospital personnel walking around. There are nurses and doctors everywhere, hooking patients up to machines with cords, taking vitals, or performing various other medical acts. The openness of the room has Mingyu nervous; he can see everything. The rooms don’t have doors, the only thing separating them are thin walls and curtains that slide across the front. A woman is crying out in pain in room two. In room seven, a doctor is shocking a man back to life.

“I’m sorry about all of this, we’re very busy tonight. It usually isn’t like this.” the nurse explains. They’ve stopped in front of one curtain, and even though the nurse is trying to reassure the two of them, Mingyu doesn’t feel any better. He’s scared of what he might find on the other side of the curtain.

“Just get some hand sanitizer over there-” the nurse points to a dispenser on the wall in front of the room, “-and then you can enter. Please don’t panic when you see him. He’s hooked up to a few monitoring machines as well as oxygen and IV drips, but he’s okay.”

That  _ certainly _ doesn’t make Mingyu feel any better. He does as told, though, and then waits in front of the curtain before the nurse pulls it back and they’re allowed to walk in.

Except, Mingyu doesn’t move. He stays frozen in his spot as he peers down at Wonwoo. The older is still as pale as a ghost, but somehow, he looks even more sickly lying in the small hospital bed than he did in the alley. He has dark circles around his eyes, but the thing that sticks out the most about his face is the oxygen mask strapped around his head. He has various IVs attached to his arms and stickers on his chest, which are hooked up to different monitors in the back of the room.

“Come on.” Jun whispers, tugging on Mingyu’s arm. Mingyu stumbles forward and finds himself falling into one of the chairs right next to Wonwoo’s bed, with Jun taking the one on the other side. Mingyu doesn’t even think as he reaches out and takes Wonwoo’s hand in his, being mindful of all of the chords. Jun takes his other and together they sit there, just like that, staring down at Wonwoo with tears welling in their eyes.

Neither of them say anything for awhile. A nurse, different this time, comes in and tells them that Wonwoo should be awake within the next few hours. She also tells them that they’ve contacted law enforcement, who’ll be here at some point throughout the night so that they can try to figure out who did this. Mingyu doesn’t want to talk to anyone but he knows he has to, so he and Jun just nod while the nurse leaves.

They go back to sitting in silence. Jun messes with Wonwoo’s hair, brushing it out of his eyes and sweeping it to one side. Mingyu watches him.

“I’ve known him since I was five.” Jun says suddenly, while he leans back his chair. He toys with Wonwoo’s fingers, probably to keep himself busy. “I moved here in kindergarten from China, and thought it was really cool that another Asian kid lived on my street so I asked him to come over and play every day, even though I could barely speak english.”

“Turns out we lived in a predominantly Asian neighborhood.” Jun chuckles. “He thought I was so annoying at first, but I just kind of forced him to be my friend and soon enough he got used to me.”

“We ended up in all of the same classes up until middle school, and we did pretty much everything together. He even came back to China with me when we went to visit family when we were fourteen. He’s basically a brother.”

“I hate seeing him like this.” Jun sniffles and Mingyu can’t help but blink back his own tears. He hadn’t realized how close Jun and Wonwoo actually were. “Neither of us have had anything like this happen to us before.”

“I’m sorry.” Mingyu whispers. Despite everyone telling him it’s not his fault, Mingyu still feels guilty. He probably always will.

“Don’t be.” Jun looks up and shakes his head. “It really isn’t your fault. The only person who’s at blame here is the fucking asshole that did this. Please don’t blame yourself, you know Wonwoo would hate that.”

Mingyu nods. He rubs at his eyes with his free hand, suddenly exhausted. He won’t sleep though, not until Wonwoo wakes up.

“You know,” Jun begins after a few moments of silence, “-Soonyoung texted me and told me that you love Wonwoo.”

Mingyu groans.

“You really shouldn’t tell him anything. He’s horrible at keeping secrets.”

“I’ve noticed.” Mingyu grunts. Jun snorts.

“Has Wonwoo told you anything about his past relationships?”

“No.” Mingyu admits. He honestly doesn’t want to have this conversation, but he’s tired of the silence, so he goes with it.

Jun snorts again. “He dated one girl his junior year of high school. She cheated on him and since then all he’s done is hook up with people. But, like, that’s rarely. That’s why he’s the way he is.”

Mingyu thinks back to the conversation he had had with everyone at Jihoon’s house a few days prior. It makes sense, why Wonwoo doesn’t want to make things completely official. Mingyu just wishes that the circumstances were different.

“When we were little we told each other that we got to pick who the other married.” Jun admits, smiling down at where his hand is tangled with Wonwoo’s. “I pick you.” 

“Oh, uh…” Mingyu does not know what to do with this information. He gapes at the older boy, who just shrugs.

“Just saying. But don’t hurt him, because I’ll kick your ass.”

“Okay.” Mingyu squeaks out. He’s about to say something else, like  _ what the fuck Jun I’m not even dating him yet don’t lay shit like this on me right now I’m an emotional mess _ but then he feels his hand move, and looks down, and finds Wonwoo stirring on the bed. He leans forward, as does Jun, and they both lean over Wonwoo until his eyes blink open.

“Wonwoo? Can you hear me?” Jun says. Both he and Mingyu lean back, giving Wonwoo his space while he looks around the room. They can’t ask him anything else, though, because suddenly the room is filled with nurses and a doctor. Mingyu hadn’t even seen them all come in.

One of the nurses walks up to the bed and smiles down at Wonwoo, before checking his monitors. Wonwoo just looks around the room some more, obviously confused, but he can’t say anything because of the mask over his face. Mingyu wishes that they all would have waited a little before they  _ ambushed _ the room, but he guesses it’s probably necessary.

“Good to see you awake.” the doctor voices after she’s checked Wonwoo’s chart, smiling at the three of them. “We’re just making sure everything checks out okay. Can you give me a thumbs up or down for how you feel right now?”

Wonwoo glances over at Mingyu, who’s heart nearly  _ breaks, _ because his eyes are so sunken in and he looks  _ afraid. _ Mingyu just gives him an encouraging smile and squeezes his hand.

Wonwoo offers the doctor a thumbs up. The doctor nods and marks the information down. “Awesome. We’ll give you some time with your friends, and then we’ll come back in with all your results, okay?”

Wonwoo only nods once.

“We’re going to take you off of the oxygen mask right now, but if your chest starts to hurt at all, press the call button and we’ll get you a cannula alright?”

Wonwoo nods again. One of the nurses takes the mask off of his face, and then almost all at once, all of the employees leave the room. The last nurse shuts the curtain behind her and then they’re left there with Wonwoo, wondering what in the  _ hell _ just happened.

Jun is the first to speak, turning to Wonwoo with a concerned look plastered across his face.

“How do you really feel?”

Wonwoo shrugs. He probably should have given a thumbs down, if the pained look on his face is anything to go by.

“Were you crying?” Wonwoo manages to croak out, his eyebrows furrowed. Jun snorts and drops his forehead onto the bed, shaking his head.

“Of course I was crying. You scared the shit out of us.”

Wonwoo turns to Mingyu, then, the same calculating look on his face. Mingyu sighs.

“Yes, I cried too.” he admits. Wonwoo just drops his head back down onto his pillow.

“What happened?”

Jun shoots back up, looking murderous, and Mingyu is going to go ahead and let him take the reigns on this one.

“That asshole at the bar fucking spiked your drink with ketamine. You were in the k-hole, Wonwoo.”

“The what?” Wonwoo mutters, which Mingyu is thankful for, because he still doesn’t know what the k-hole is either. Jun sighs.

“The dissociation that happens when you take large doses of ketamine. You almost  _ died, _ Wonwoo. They had to pump your stomach.”

Mingyu knew that what had happened was serious, but he didn’t know it was  _ that _ serious. He knows absolutely nothing about medical terms, so for him, stomach pumping just meant getting the bad stuff out. Not saving Wonwoo’s life.

Wonwoo nods, but he still looks confused.

“What asshole at the bar?”

Mingyu gapes. Jun sighs, and runs a hand down the side of his face.

“Do you not remember anything?” the eldest asks, to which Wonwoo shakes his head ‘no’. “We went to a bar after dinner, you bought a drink, someone slipped something into it, and now here we are.”

“Shit.” Wonwoo whispers. “I blacked out right after we arrived. I don’t remember anything past getting through the bouncer.”

Mingyu thinks that they should probably be telling the doctor this, but the look Jun has on his face suggests that this is probably normal. Which worries Mingyu, but Wonwoo seems okay, for right now, so he doesn’t question it.

Wonwoo announces that he’s still a little tired a few minutes after that, and then dozes off again, Mingyu’s hand still clutched in his. Mingyu won’t let go, and Wonwoo doesn’t seem to mind. Jun uses the time to call Joshua and let him know what’s going on, so that everyone back at the hotel isn’t still freaking out.

After a little while the nurses and doctors come back, but this time, they’re joined by a few police officers. They all three have to give statements, so Jun goes first, which doesn’t take long because he didn’t see anything. Mingyu goes next, and he tells the officers everything he told the EMT, and then tries his best to describe what the guy had looked like. He can’t offer much.

They have to wake Wonwoo back up so that he can talk to the police, which is almost painful for Mingyu, because the older boy finally looks peaceful. Once the officers realize he doesn’t remember anything, though, they leave him alone, and take all of the information with them out of the room. The doctor and one of the nurses stay though, and begin to hook new IV bags up, while they go over all of the test results with a still sleepy-Wonwoo.

Mingyu doesn’t understand anything. The only thing he really pays attention to is the various symptoms Wonwoo will probably experience in the days to come. Vomiting, headaches, drowsiness; it sounds like a bad time and Mingyu feels awful.

They leave soon enough though, with the promise of discharging Wonwoo in the morning as long as he does good throughout the night. That’s the only part of the conversation that Wonwoo looks even mildly interested in.

“I think I might head back to the hotel.” Jun announces once the curtain has closed again. “I’m pretty sure I have your puke on my shoes, I need a shower.”

Mingyu looks down at Jun’s shoes and finds that he does, in fact, have vomit all over them. It’s gross. Wonwoo, however, doesn’t even care. He even smirks.

“Okay.”

Jun turns to Mingyu. “Call me if anything happens.”

“I will.” Mingyu nods. Jun will be the first person he contacts, no doubt.

“I’ll come back in the morning.” Jun tells Wonwoo, who just nods, his eyes hooded. “Love you, man.”

“Love you too.” Wonwoo mumbles, smiling up at his best friend. Jun sighs and then slips out of the room, with one last wave in Mingyu’s direction. Mingyu waves back, and then turns to Wonwoo. He finds the older already staring up at him.

“Did you really cry?” Wonwoo’s voice is weak, but Mingyu still laughs at him.

“Yes, I really cried.”

“Why?”

“I thought you  _ died.” _ Mingyu admits. With as much  _ science _ knowledge as he has, Mingyu had thought that Wonwoo had dropped dead when he had only fainted. “It scared me.”

“I didn’t.”

“No, you didn’t. Thank God.” Mingyu huffs out. He brings his free hand up and brushes the hair that’s fallen into Wonwoo’s eyes away. “Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’d survive.” Wonwoo jokes. Mingyu breaks out into a smile.

“Disagree.”

Wonwoo’s face turns a light shade of red as he looks down, obviously embarrassed. Mingyu moves his hand down to cup the older’s cheek, forcing him to look back up at him.

“I love you.”

There. It’s out there, Mingyu can’t take it back, if this is the last thing he ever says before Wonwoo kills him he’d be fine-

“What?” Wonwoo’s eyebrows furrow together again as he peers into Mingyu’s eyes.

“You don’t have to say it back, I just realized I love you and-”

“I love you too.” Wonwoo whispers. Mingyu bites down on his lip as he stares at the older.

“Really?” he asks, quietly, so quietly that he wonders if Wonwoo can even hear him. He does, though, and nods.

“I know it hasn’t been that long but you make me really happy and I’ve never been in love before so I don’t know what it feels like, but I think this is it. I hope this is it.” Wonwoo confesses. Mingyu grins and then laughs, because  _ this is happening, it’s really happening, they’re so damn cheesy he can hardly handle it. _

“Me too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Mingyu nods and leans forward, because that’s what he’s  _ supposed _ to do, and places a light kiss on Wonwoo’s lips. Wonwoo leans up and deepens it the best he can, while still being tethered to all of his cords and IVs. It isn’t perfect but it works, and that’s all Mingyu can ask for.

When they pull back, Wonwoo smiles up at him, his face flushed a little. “This is kind of like Grey’s Anatomy.”

“What?” Mingyu chokes out, stunned a little, because  _ what? _

“This could be a scene on a Grey’s Anatomy episode.”

“Oh my God.” Mingyu leans his head forward so that it rests on Wonwoo’s shoulder while he laughs. “You’re such a dork, I don’t know why I like you.”

“You love me.”

“You’re right, I do.” Mingyu leans back up and grins the biggest grin he’s probably grinned in a while. Wonwoo smiles back at him.

“You know,” Mingyu begins then, because it’s always been his duty to ruin the moment, he can’t help it, “-Jun told me that you tell people all the time that you ‘ghost on them’ and then ignore them. I was afraid that was going to happen to me.”

Wonwoo shakes his head. “I do, but...you’re special. I wouldn’t have done that to you.”

“Why do you do that?” Mingyu is curious to hear it from Wonwoo himself. Wonwoo shrugs.

“Nothing more than commitment issues. I think I might be over them now.” he says, smirking. Mingyu beams.

“Does that mean I can call you my boyfriend now?”

“No.”

Mingyu scowls, and is about to just  _ let it all out, _ but then Wonwoo starts laughing.

“I’m kidding.”

“Oh, thank God.” Mingyu mutters. “So now I can kiss you whenever I want to.”

“You already do that.” Wonwoo rolls his eyes. Mingyu has to refrain from saying  _ no, I don’t, _ because he’s held himself back so many times while they were in public, it’s not even funny.

“Jun also told me that you guys told each other that you were picking who the other married. He said he picks me.” Mingyu then says, changing the subject again. Wonwoo lets his head hit his pillow and groans, his face red yet again.

“I hate him.” he grumbles, and then, quietly, “-but I wouldn’t mind.”

“Okay.” Mingyu chuckles, taking Wonwoo’s hand back into his. “The meds are getting to you. Slow down, babe, we just became boyfriends.”

“But if you think about it,” Wonwoo begins, shrugging, “-we’ve been doing boyfriend stuff for awhile now, so…”

“So why didn’t you let me call you my boyfriend before now?” Mingyu challenges. They’re joking, of course, but Mingyu is still curious as to what Wonwoo’s answer is.

Wonwoo ends up shrugging. “I wanted to make you suffer.”

“Well, you were successful in that.” Mingyu laughs. He leans forward and places a kiss of Wonwoo’s forehead. “You need to rest, you can barely keep your eyes open.”

Wonwoo has been struggling to stay awake this entire time, it’s obvious. Mingyu wants to keep talking to him about everything, but he wants him to get better even more, so he gives in and tells the older to sleep. Wonwoo just sighs.

“You won’t go anywhere, right?”

“Nope, I’m staying right here.” Mingyu holds his and Wonwoo’s attached hands up. “Remember? You can’t lose me if we’re holding hands.”

Wonwoo snorts. Mingyu leans forward again and, this time, presses a kiss to the corner of the older’s mouth.

“Okay.” Wonwoo finally gives in, shuffling around so that he’s more comfortable.

“Sweet dreams, Wonwoo.”

“I love you.” Wonwoo mutters, his eyes already closed. Mingyu grins.

“I love you, too.”

Wonwoo smiles as he drifts off into sleep. Mingyu watches him, fond look plastered across his face. He loves this boy so much, it isn’t even funny, and he’s so thankful that he can finally tell him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of people commented on the last chapter asking how this could happen since Wonwoo was standing right there, and Mingyu was watching him. I just wanted to say that the asshole people that do this kind of stuff are good at it, they know what they're doing and are able to make it as discreet as possible. My best advice is to just always watch out for your friends, and never leave anyone alone. If someone is acting drunker than they should (knowing the amount that they've had), then please please PLEASE get them somewhere where they can be checked out. You should never mess around with this kind of stuff. It can turn really bad, really fast. 
> 
> Okay that's what I gotta say on that. Thaaaaannnkks for reading :)


	15. Chapter 15

Mingyu stares out the peephole of the hotel room door, his hand on the handle although he’s hesitant to open it. He grimaces. 

“He’s back.”

“Open it.” Wonwoo croaks from the bed, his voice expressing his amusement. Mingyu sighs and turns around so that he can face the older.

“I don’t want to.”

“I can hear you, Kim Mingyu!” Soonyoung shouts from the other side of the door. Wonwoo snorts but doesn’t look away from where he has his laptop propped up on his lap, some action moving playing on the screen.

Mingyu groans one last time and opens the door, because clearly Wonwoo isn’t going to help him, and Soonyoung definitely isn’t going to leave on his own.

“Asshole.” Soonyoung mutters as soon as the door reveals Mingyu, who’s still standing there blocking the entryway, like he’s done all of the other times the older boy has shown up at their room. There’s 30 minutes left until formal starts, and for  _ some _ reason, Soonyoung is having a terribly hard time accepting the fact that Mingyu and Wonwoo will not be attending.

Wonwoo has thrown up a total of  _ seven _ times since he’s gotten home from the hospital, and it’s only been about five hours. The lights have been off the entire time because of his headache, and the smell of food has him dry heaving into the bucket Mingyu has set out for him. The last thing he or Mingyu wants to do is attend a frat formal.

“Do you guys need anything? We’re leaving soon.” Soonyoung says, peering into the room so that he can wave at Wonwoo. Wonwoo smiles and waves back, pausing his movie. Mingyu sighs again.

“No thank you, we’re fine. Really, Soonyoung, nothing has changed since you left  _ ten minutes ago.” _

“Forgive me for being worried about my friend. I just want to make sure you guys are okay before all of us leave for the night.”

Wonwoo almost physically  _ fought _ Jun and Soonyoung when they had told him that they weren’t going to go to formal because they wanted to stay back with him. Of course, Jihoon and Minghao didn’t really care what they did, but Wonwoo did, and he totally wasn’t okay with them skipping the event just because of him. Mingyu had had to hold him down on the bed so that he didn’t get up and attempt to beat their asses.

“I’m okay, Soonyoung. Go have fun.” Wonwoo manages. He hasn’t moved from his position on the bed all day, and when Mingyu looks back at him, he looks exhausted. Funny, because he’s slept all day long.

“I won’t knowing you’re up here being miserable but okay.” Soonyoung sighs, and jabs his thumb backwards. “I’m leaving now. I promise. I think even Jihoon is getting annoyed with me now.”

“We’re not annoyed.” Mingyu reassures his friend, smiling down at the older. “Really. We’ll be okay up here though, so don’t worry.”

“‘M still gonna…” Soonyoung mumbles. “But if you insist. Call me if you need anything though, I’m not drinking.”

Mingyu has heard this from Jun, Minghao, Joshua, Seungkwan, and now Soonyoung. He assumes that what happened to Wonwoo has had a lasting affect on everyone. Just the mere thought of alcohol has he, himself, gagging a little even.

“I will, promise. Go have fun.” Mingyu grins. Soonyoung nods and then waves again at Wonwoo, who beams at him, and then walks away. Mingyu watches him until he’s back into his room, and then shuts the door. He turns around and walks back over to the bed, before he carefully plops himself back down next to Wonwoo.

“If one more person comes to the door and is sad, I might lose it.” Wonwoo mumbles. Mingyu cackles and pulls the older closer to him, shifting in the bed so that they’re in a more comfortable position.

It’s been like this all day; watching movies, with Mingyu forcing water and medications into Wonwoo. It hasn’t exactly been an exciting day, but Mingyu doesn’t mind, especially because Wonwoo has been content. He’s felt better in the last couple of hours, too, and hasn’t gotten sick for awhile, so all in all, it hasn’t been too terrible of a day. Mingyu expected way worse.

“They’re just worried about you.” Mingyu reasons, even though he’s a  _ little _ annoyed too. Jun had spent an entire hour in the room, just staring at Wonwoo. It was  _ supposed _ to just be he and Wonwoo for the day, since Seungkwan and Vernon decided to crash in another room to give them some space, but unfortunately the room has been steadily populated since they got home. Jeonghan even brought flowers.

“I know.” Wonwoo shrugs, and leans his head on Mingyu’s shoulder. “But still. I just want to rest.”

“Well, now you can.” Mingyu smiles. “They’re all leaving.”

“Thank God.” Wonwoo whispers, and then unpauses his movie. Mingyu chuckles and rests his chin on the top of the older’s forehead before he focuses back in on the screen. He doesn’t understand what’s going on in the film, since he hasn’t been  _ totally _ paying attention, but it’s a good distraction.

They stay like that for another hour or so, until the movie ends, and they’re left staring down at a blank screen. Wonwoo’s laptop is almost dead so he has to plug it in, which means that their Netflix run has come to an end. Mingyu has honestly run out of things to do, it seems as if they’ve exhausted every option.

“‘M kind of hungry.” Wonwoo mentions, once he’s climbed back onto the bed from putting his laptop away. “But I don’t want to go anywhere.”

Mingyu smiles, because Wonwoo hasn’t eaten anything all day long, despite his and Jun’s pestering. He figures getting some food into the older boy will pass some time.

“I can run down to the convenience store we saw down the street and pick something up?” Mingyu offers, already walking over to where his shoes are. Wonwoo’s frown stops him, though.

“What?”

“I don’t want you to leave me.” Wonwoo whines. Mingyu wants to laugh at him, but the sad look on the older’s face has his heart breaking. He turns around  _ real quick _ and flops down on the bed face first, his arm bringing Wonwoo down with him. He ends up with his arm pinning Wonwoo down onto the bed, with his face pressed up against his black,  _ extremely _ messy hair.

“Then it’s settled.” Mingyu mumbles, pulling Wonwoo closer to him. The one time he had tried to be careful with the older, Wonwoo had yelled at him, so he doesn’t even try anymore. “We’ll order something in.”

“You’re the best.” Wonwoo says, turning so that he’s facing Mingyu head-on. “Can we get pizza?”

“Will that be too much on your stomach?” Mingyu’s nose is practically touching Wonwoo’s, and because they’re basically already there, he shuffles forward so that they’re pressed up against each other. Wonwoo cracks a smile.

“I’ll be fine, I just won’t eat a lot.”

“Are you sure?”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes. “Yes. But I’ll only eat it if we get pepperoni.”

“You’re so boring.” Mingyu snorts. Wonwoo shrugs, and then they both just lay there and stare at each other. Mingyu is actually starving himself, and would like the pizza to come as soon as possible, but he also doesn’t want to leave Wonwoo’s side.

_ God damn, _ he’s done for.

“Are you going to order it?” Wonwoo asks after a couple of moments, his smile never faltering. The leg he has wrapped around Mingyu, thought, suggests that he doesn’t want the younger to leave either.

“In a minute. I just want to lay here.”

“You’re sappy.” Wonwoo mutters, knowing good and well why Mingyu doesn’t want to leave. Mingyu scoffs.

“Okay, Mr. ‘I-don’t-want-you-to-leave-me’.”

Wonwoo’s cheeks tint a slight pink even though he rolls his eyes. He shoves Mingyu away from him,  _ softly, _ and then rolls off of the bed, before he heads towards the bathroom.

“Can you get breadsticks too? Those sound good.” he asks before he shuts himself in the bathroom, leaving Mingyu to gape at him. The younger snorts and then rolls off of the bed himself, tugging his phone (which Jeonghan had found in the alley, God bless him) out of his pocket and dialing up the nearest pizza place.

He’s told that the wait is going to be about 30 minutes, which really isn’t that bad, especially since it’s a Saturday night in a busy night. Mingyu relays this information to Wonwoo once he reemerges from the bathroom, and Wonwoo just nods, slotting himself right back into Mingyu’s side without doing anything else. They have time to kill, so Mingyu pulls Wonwoo closer and begins carding his fingers through the tangled hair.

“Got your breadsticks.”

“Thanks. You’re the best.”

“You’ve already told me that. Better be careful, or my ego might skyrocket.” Mingyu jokes. Wonwoo swats him on the chest and then cuddles down into his hoodie, digging his face into the front of it. Mingyu smiles.

“You smell good.”

“I smell like a hospital.” Mingyu grimaces. “How high do these drugs make you?”

“No, you smell like Mingyu.” Wonwoo mumbles. “I like it.”

Mingyu blushes. He smiles down at the top of Wonwoo’s head, still pushing his fingers through the hair. It isn’t as bad now, but he still likes doing so and Wonwoo obviously enjoys it.

They lay there like that for the remainder of their wait time, not saying much, just enjoying each other’s presence. Wonwoo plays with the strings on Mingyu’s hoodie and hums a little tune while Mingyu twists Wonwoo’s hair around, braiding certain sections of it and knotting the others. It looks ridiculous by the time there’s a knock on their door, but Wonwoo doesn’t seem to mind one bit.

Mingyu is the one to get up and get the pizza, as expected, and only has to push Wonwoo away once when he tries to hand him some cash. Thing is, Mingyu paid over the phone with his card, so it’s already taken care of. He even leaves a decent tip for the delivery guy, and then shuts the door and flips the padlock over, before walking over to the desk and setting down the two boxes.

They don’t have plates or napkins but apparently Wonwoo doesn’t care, because he just grabs a piece of pizza and a breadstick and then walks back to the bed, plopping the food down onto the bedside table before he climbs up onto the mattress. Mingyu snorts at him and then grabs both of the boxes, setting them on the bed so that they don’t even have to worry about where to put their food. Still, Wonwoo doesn’t move what he currently has out.

“That’s kind of gross.” Mingyu chuckles, pointing to the food on the table. Wonwoo shrugs and then takes a large bite of his pizza.

“Don’t care.” he mumbles around his bite. Mingyu grimaces and pushes his face away, causing the older to laugh and then eventually choke.

“Please don’t die.” Mingyu says, panicked, as he sets his piece back down on the cardboard and gets up to retrieve two water bottles from the cooler. He hands one to Wonwoo, patting him on the back in the process while Wonwoo gulps the water down.

They finish their pizza in mostly silence after that. Wonwoo only eats his one piece and then three breadsticks, whereas Mingyu eats five pieces and the remaining breadsticks. He really wasn’t kidding when he said he was starving, and explains this to Wonwoo when the older gapes at him.

Mingyu ends up cleaning everything up and then putting the remaining pizza (which isn’t a lot) in their mini fridge, so that they (he) can eat it later. He then grabs another water bottle for Wonwoo before he climbs back up onto the bed. They’ve spent a lot of time in the bed, and not in the dirty way; Mingyu isn’t mad about it though.

“Thanks.” Wonwoo takes the bottle and gulps at least half of it down, before setting it on the bedside table. “So, what now?”

“I don’t know, what do you want to do?”

“Have sex with you but the doctor advised against that.” 

Mingyu doesn’t mean to, but he chokes on his own spit, which prompts Wonwoo to whack him on his back. He’s laughing though, and Mingyu doesn’t think it’s funny, so he glares at the older.

“You know,” he mutters, once he’s composed himself, “-I really don’t know what to expect from you. Sometimes you’re  _ normal, _ and then you do  _ that.” _

“Sorry.” Wonwoo shrugs, though he’s still smirking. “It’s true though.”

“She said to wait at least a week.” Mingyu reminds Wonwoo, an eyebrow lifted. One look at Mingyu and Wonwoo literally curled around each other in the hospital bed this morning, and the doctor had begun talking about what Wonwoo could and couldn’t do, sexual acts included. Apparently, sex would be bad for him at the moment.

“Do we  _ really-” _

“Yes.” Mingyu nods. “We have forever, remember? Jun picked me for you to marry.”

Wonwoo throws his head back and cackles, before he hits Mingyu with a pillow on the side of the head. Mingyu laughs and then proceeds to jump up on the bed, before he tackles Wonwoo,  _ softly, _ into the middle of it. He ends up on top of Wonwoo, his legs bracketing the older’s waist, with his head bent down low.

“Did she say anything about making out?” Wonwoo asks, his voice small and quiet. He looks hopeful and Mingyu can’t deny him of everything, so he smirks.

“No, I don’t think she did.”

“That’s good.” Wonwoo nods. “Come ‘ere.”

Mingyu bends down and places his lips tentatively on Wonwoo’s, letting the older deepen it in he wants. Which he does, reaching up and tangling his fingers into the hair at the base of Mingyu’s neck, effectively pulling him down closer. Mingyu parts his lips slightly, which Wonwoo takes advantage of, sliding his tongue in and pressing up closer to Mingyu’s body. Mingyu makes sure to be careful of his weight on top of Wonwoo, not wanting to crush the smaller boy, but still doesn’t hold back much.

They’re only interrupted, about ten minutes later, by a knock on their door. Wonwoo groans, loudly, as he flops back down onto the bed. Mingyu smiles down at him, even though he’s annoyed himself, and then climbs off of the older.

He’s a little hard in his jeans and he’s positive his hair is a mess, Wonwoo had  _ not _ been gentle or careful at all, but he figures that it’s just one of his friends at the door so he doesn’t care. He hops off of the bed and walks over to the door, peering through peephole once he gets there so that he can prepare himself. He finds Vernon, who looks flustered, and slightly disheveled. Mingyu can relate.

“What’s up?” he asks when he throws the door open. Vernon stares at him for a second, then blinks a couple of times and shakes his head. Mingyu just cocks an eyebrow.

“We have a problem.”

“A problem?” Mingyu asks, suddenly concerned. Vernon wouldn’t interrupt him for  _ nothing. _

“Yes.” Vernon nods once. Mingyu stares at him, hoping he’ll continue, but when he doesn’t, he rolls his eyes at the younger boy.

“What  _ kind _ of problem?”

By this point, Wonwoo has joined them, looking concerned as he peers over Mingyu’s shoulder. Vernon grins at him.

“Hi Wonwoo!”

“Hi Vernon.” Wonwoo laughs, and then- “What’s going on?”

“Right, so, uh, Soonyoung is crying.”

“Why? What happened?” Soonyoung is an emotional man, Mingyu will give him that, but unless he’s drunk Mingyu has no idea why he’d be crying. Vernon just sighs.

“Jihoon proposed.”

“Jihoon what?!” Wonwoo all but screeches, pushing Mingyu out of the way so that he can step up to Vernon. The younger boy cowers backwards, wincing.

“Proposed? I don’t know, it caught us  _ all _ off guard.” Vernon explains. Mingyu just looks back and forth at Vernon and Wonwoo, who stare at each other. It’s all very intense.

“Wait.” Mingyu breaks the silence. “How long have they even been dating?”

“Since their sophomore year of  _ high school, _ man. No one had any idea it’d been that long except for like, Chan apparently.”

Chan is...a lot closer to Soonyoung than Mingyu had originally thought. He sighs.

“Okay, so Jihoon proposed. Why did he propose tonight? Is he drunk?”

Vernon shakes his head ‘no’. “Soonyoung was sobbing when he explained it to us, but I guess they made a pact? I don’t know what else to call it. Whoever made the move first would do it at some frat event for whatever reason, because they both love their frats, and Jihoon is going inactive next year because he’s studying abroad, so this was the only time he could do it because he wasn’t going to do it at Kappa’s formal.”

Mingyu’s eyes about bug out of his head as Vernon explains all of this. It’s so...not like Jihoon, but so much like Soonyoung, and he just can’t wrap his mind around all of it.

“Right. So…” Mingyu sighs. “Why is this a problem?”

“It’s not.” Vernon shrugs. “I was just told to come up and tell you guys, in case you wanted to come down and see them or something.”

Mingyu turns to Wonwoo, so that he can ask him what he wants to do, but the older is already pulling on a pair of Mingyu’s sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Mingyu snorts.

“We’ll be down in a second.” he tells Vernon. The younger nods and then turns away, heading back towards the elevators. Mingyu laughs at his retreating back and then goes back into the room so that he can slide on some shoes.

“I can’t fucking  _ believe _ Jihoon proposed and I wasn’t there!” Wonwoo angrily mumbles as he tugs his tennis shoes on. He looks pissed and Mingyu sighs, sliding his own pair of Nike’s on.

“It’s okay. I’m sure someone filmed it.” he offers. Wonwoo shoots him a glare. “You’ll be there for the wedding?”

“You’re not helping.” Wonwoo grits out. Mingyu zips his mouth shut and then nods, though he’s trying not to laugh because Wonwoo is acting a little bit  _ extra. _ Wonwoo doesn’t notice, though, and instead stalks towards the door. Mingyu follows after him, making sure to grab his phone and the keycard on the way out.

The elevator trip is silent. The walk to the ballroom is silent. The only reason it’s silent is because Wonwoo is clearly annoyed, and Mingyu is trying not to laugh at him, so he has to keep quiet. It’s an amusing trip down and Mingyu will, at some point, make fun of his boyfriend for it.

They don’t have to show their school IDs at the door since the event is practically over, so they just walk into the ballroom once they get there and then head towards the back. Mingyu doesn’t spot any of their friends at first, but eventually he sees Seokmin and Minghao, who are standing right where they’re walking towards. Everyone is surrounding Jihoon and Soonyoung and Soonyoung is still crying, but Jihoon looks  _ so proud, _ so Mingyu will save the teasing for later.

“You  _ dick!” _ Wonwoo shouts when they finally reach the group, and Mingyu winces, because  _ class. _ It isn’t present. “You got engaged when I wasn’t fucking here!”

Soonyoung turns and  _ lights the fuck up _ when he spots Wonwoo. He rushes towards him and wraps him up into a hug and he’s not drunk, but he’s still as  _ Soonyoung _ as ever, and Mingyu sighs.

“I didn’t know it was happening!” Soonyoung chokes out. “He just fucking bent down and did it!”

“Let me see the ring, asshole!” Wonwoo exclaims and Soonyoung pulls away so that he can show Wonwoo the simple band on his finger. Mingyu’s eyes widen when he spots it himself because  _ holy shit, _ it’s actually there. It  _ actually _ happened.

This has been the weirdest god damn weekend of Mingyu’s life, and he’s not actually sure if he’s dreaming or not. He might be. He realized he was in fucking  _ love, _ almost lost one of the most important people in his life, aka the person he’s in love with, then proceeded to convince said person to be his boyfriend, and now one of his close friends is getting married? Yeah, weird weekend.

“We’re not getting married anytime soon!” Soonyoung reassures Wonwoo, and by default, the entire group. Jihoon nods from behind him, still looking smug as all hell. “Like, not for a long time.”

“It’s just a...promise kind of thing.” Jihoon explains. “Plus, this was the last chance I had to do it.”

Mingyu assumes that Greek Week wouldn’t be an acceptable time to propose, and if Jihoon actually  _ is _ studying abroad next year then yeah, he agrees, this was a good time to do it. Still, though. They’re getting  _ married. _

“You look...surprised.” Mingyu turns and finds Jun standing next to him, a grin on his face. Mingyu snorts.

“You could say that.”

“Don’t worry, we all were. No one saw this coming.”

“It’s just...wow.” Mingyu laughs a little. “It’s been a weird weekend.”

“It really has.” Jun nods. The two of them watch as Soonyoung shows his ring off to a group of girls who have now congregated around their group, after hearing the news being spread around the room. Some of them are even crying, albeit they may be a little drunk, but it’s still sincere.

“Hey.” Mingyu turns to look back at Jun, who’s staring straight at him, suddenly serious. “I, uh, kind of want to ask Minghao to like...date me.”

“Yeah?” Mingyu grins, while Jun nods. “I think he’ll say yes.”

“Really?” Mingyu nods, reassuring the older boy. “That’s a relief. I really like him.”

“I think he really likes you too.” Mingyu is positive, actually, but he’ll let Jun figure that out for himself. “How funny. All of these relationships developing this weekend.”

“This might be the most exciting formal yet.” Jun snorts, going back to his joking self, now that he’s been reassured. “Definitely have never had a proposal before.”

Mingyu turns back to where Soonyoung and Wonwoo still are. Soonyoung is still gushing about his ring,  _ and _ Jihoon, to all of the girls, while Wonwoo looks on with a grin on his face and sparkling eyes.

“Great. He’s enjoying this, I never pegged him as the cheesy romantic type.” They’re definitely cheesy and romantic, but not  _ this _ kind of cheesy and romantic. Mingyu sighs.

“You’ve got a lot to learn about him.” Jun chuckles. “He once told me he wanted to propose, or be proposed to, on top of a building overlooking the city skyline.”

Mingyu grimaces. He’d be fine with a small proposal in the comfort of their home, if he’s being honest. Not that he’s thinking about proposing to/being proposed to by Wonwoo any time soon.

“Hey, Mingyu?” Jun says, quietly, and Mingyu turns to find the older sighing. He quirks an eyebrow. “Take care of him, okay?”

Mingyu sighs this time, smiling slightly.

“Wouldn’t dream of doing anything else but that.”

“Good. I think you guys are really going to work out.”

Mingyu’s grin widens as he turns back to Wonwoo. He finds him talking to a girl, and when Wonwoo glances back at him, he points. The girl follows his finger and then grins at Mingyu, before the two go back to talking to one another. Mingyu smiles at them.

Coming into his sophomore year, Mingyu never expected for any of this to happen. He knew he’d be joining a fraternity, knew he’d still have Minghao, but he never thought he’d ever make this many great friends in such a short amount of time. He still doesn’t know what he’s doing with his life, but with a little motivation in Wonwoo and a little help from his fraternity brothers, he doesn’t hate going to his classes anymore. He hasn’t found his passion yet but he’s getting there and that’s all he can ask for.

As for Wonwoo? Mingyu will never be able to thank the older boy for what he’s done for him. He’s helped him with studying and indirectly gave him a great group of friends, but really, he’s done so much more than that. He’s helped Mingyu find himself, and with that, he’s been happier. So much happier and more than anything, he taught Mingyu how to love something,  _ someone, _ and it’s the best feeling that Mingyu has ever experienced in his entire life.

When Mingyu shakes himself out of his trance, Wonwoo is walking over to him, his face expressing that of concern. Mingyu smiles at him.

“You okay?” he asks, and Mingyu nods, immediately tucking the older under his arm.

“Just thinking.”

“About?”

Mingyu shrugs. “Stuff. What were you talking about with that girl?”

“Us.” Wonwoo grins up at Mingyu, who scoffs and rolls his eyes, pretending to be put off. Wonwoo giggles. “She asked why I wasn’t dressed up, so I told her that I didn’t feel good so me and my boyfriend were just hanging out upstairs, but then this whole thing happened so we came down.”

“Mm.” Mingyu hums, his grin widening. “‘Boyfriend’. Won’t get tired hearing that.”

“That’s good, because I’m probably going to be saying it a lot.” Wonwoo admits, only looking a little abashed.

“If only you had agree to it earlier.” Mingyu  _ tsks, _ teasing the older. Wonwoo swats him on the chest, but laughs, joking as well.

Mingyu watches as Wonwoo stops giggling, his nose going from scrunched-up-cute to normal, his eyes widening again. He’s gorgeous, the most beautiful thing Mingyu has ever seen, and he’s  _ so _ fucking grateful to have him in his life.

“Hey.” he says, and Wonwoo looks up at him, grin still evident on his face. “I love you.”

Wonwoo’s cheeks turn bright red, because they haven’t said it in public, in  _ front _ of people yet, but he smiles nonetheless.

“I love you too.”

Mingyu grins, and is about to say something even more greasy, but then Wonwoo continues talking.

“Hey, do you love me enough to propose to me in the middle of formal?”

“No.” Mingyu snorts, trying for sarcasm but also being serious. Not because the thought of proposing to Wonwoo is off putting, but because at formal? He’d rather not.

“I always wanted something more  _ grand _ anyways.”

“That’s what Jun said.” Mingyu admits. Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

“You guys are best buddies now, huh?”

“Why, jealous?” Mingyu jokes. Wonwoo rolls his eyes again, and Mingyu pulls him closer, smiling into his hair. They’re still standing towards the outside of the group, who are all still conversing, mostly with Jihoon and Soonyoung.

“Of course not. I just need to prepare myself.”

Mingyu snorts, and nods, because he understands.

“But really, please don’t propose to me any time soon.” Wonwoo looks up at Mingyu, completely serious, and Mingyu nods.

“Wasn’t going to.”

“Good, because for right now, I’d just like to be your boyfriend.”

“Whom I love very much.” Mingyu pulls Wonwoo into a full hug, pressing him close to his chest and bear hugging him with both arms. Wonwoo giggles into his sweatshirt, trying to wiggle away, but it does no good. Mingyu has a strong grip on him. He lifts him from his feet a little until Wonwoo whines at him, asking to be put back down. Mingyu sets him back down but doesn’t remove his arms, and instead just rests his hands on the smaller boy’s waist.

Mingyu stares at Wonwoo’s his face, his cute nose, his tousled hair, his dark, wondering eyes. He smiles at him and then leans down close to his ear, stopping halfway to press a kiss to his cheek.

“I love you.”

“You already said that, like, twice now.”

“Gotta say it as much as I can because it’s true.”

“You’re greasier than Jun.” Wonwoo mumbles. “But, I love you too.”

“You sure?” Mingyu pulls back slightly and looks at Wonwoo, who rolls his eyes and nods. Mingyu grins.

“K. Still love you.”

Wonwoo rolls his eyes again. Mingyu chuckles, pulling away and lacing their fingers together.

“You sure?” Wonwoo says in a mocking tone, making fun of Mingyu. Mingyu nods, completely serious.

“I’m sure.”

“K.” Wonwoo nods. Mingyu laughs at him and kisses his forehead, before he drags him over to where all of their friends are still gathered.

He doesn’t know what the future holds for him and Wonwoo. For all he knows, they could be separated in a month, or six, or maybe a year. He hopes that’s not the case, though. He wants to be with this boy for forever, and if it makes him  _ greasy, _ well, he doesn’t care. He loves Wonwoo with his entire heart, not a single fiber, or whatever, of it doesn’t love Wonwoo, and it’ll probably stay that way for a long, long time. He can’t imagine his life without him, now that he has him, and maybe that should be worrying, but Mingyu isn’t bothered. In fact, he’s excited.

Excited for what’s to come with his relationship with Wonwoo, excited for the rest of the school year, excited for the rest of his life. He’s a little overwhelmed, especially since an engagement has just happened (it still hasn’t properly hit him, but he’ll deal), but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s probably the happiest he’s ever been in his life. And, if he’s being honest, he can attribute most of his happiness to Wonwoo.

Mingyu watches as Wonwoo talks to Jihoon about how he came up with his plan to propose. He watches as Wonwoo smiles, laughs, scrunches his nose, talks, and just acts overall  _ happy. _

The only thing he can think, the  _ entire _ time, is  _ yeah, I fucking love this. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THAT'S A WRAP, FOLKS! Honestly I shed a tear or two as I wrote the last couple of lines for this, not because it's sad, but because this MONSTER fic I've put so much work into is o v e r. I'm just really proud that I actually finished a fic, and it's good? Decent at least? Idk but I have to thank you guys, the readers, the most because without all of your support I would have given up after like the first chapter lmao. So thank you so so so much, I mean it! 
> 
> (Also just wanted to say that the proposal actually happened at a formal that I went to. It was the cutest shit ever okay I had to add it in somewhere.)


	16. Epilogue

“This is the statue we’re supposed to meet them at, right?” Seungkwan asks, standing atop the concrete barrier surrounding the statue of the university’s mascot. He has one hand on top of Vernon’s head to steady himself, while the other shields his eyes as he scans the crowd of people in front of them. Mingyu peers up at him and sighs, rolling his eyes. 

“This is the only statue.” he mutters. Seungkwan glares at him, before he hops down from the step. 

“You shouldn’t even be saying anything because you didn’t know we had a fountain on the south side of campus until  _ last week.” _

“Yeah, well, at least I knew that the chemistry building was different from the biology building.” 

“Okay I never had a class in either of them, but one of them is named Scott, and the other is Scote, so really-” 

“Oh, look, here they come!” Vernon says enthusiastically, pointing at the crowd while effectively shutting both Mingyu and Seungkwan up. Mingyu sends one last glare Seungkwan’s way and then turns around. 

Out of all the friends he’s made while in college, Seungkwan is the one he argues with the most. Not because they don’t get along, but because they both have to always be right and, well… 

Usually neither of them are. 

The first one to approach their little group is Soonyoung. It isn’t even a surprise when he immediately picks Chan up into a bear hug, swinging him around and sobbing into his neck. One look at Jihoon and Mingyu figures that Soonyoung has been crying since the beginning of the ceremony. 

It  _ is _ kind of a big deal though. They’re the last four to graduate from college, and it’s been a long time coming. After this, none of the guys will have any reason to come back to their small college town, so the event kind of marks the end of an era. Mingyu doesn’t blame any of them for crying. He sobbed in his room at the Kappa house by himself for 30 minutes before he left for the ceremony. 

“I’m so proud of you guys!” Soonyoung chokes out when he finally puts the now-disheveled looking Chan down. “My three biological grand-littles and my adopted grand-little are all grown up!” 

Seungkwan grimaces but that doesn’t stop Soonyoung from reaching forward and bringing both him and Vernon into a hug. Mingyu watches, amused, until Soonyoung lets the younger two go and turns to him. 

“It took you an extra year, but I’m so happy for you!” 

Mingyu groans but allows the hug, squeezing Soonyoung as tightly back because honestly, he’s missed the older boy. 

The minute he and Jihoon graduated, they took off for the west coast. Jihoon got a good job with a producing company in LA, and then bought Soonyoung a little dance studio, which has quickly turned into one of the most successful in his region. They come back and visit during breaks, along with the other older boys, but it isn’t the same. 

“Okay, share him.” a new voice says, causing Soonyoung to pull back from Mingyu. Mingyu peers around the shorter boy and finds Minghao, looking far more annoyed than he should be. 

Mingyu grins at him. 

“Your cap is crooked.” Minghao mutters, which has Mingyu rolling his eyes before he pulls the younger boy into a hug. He hasn’t seen him since spring break, and honestly, it’s been tough on the both of them. 

Jun had gotten an athletic training job at a different university, one about two hours north of Pledis University, and had moved there immediately after he graduated. He and Minghao did the long-distance thing until Minghao himself graduated, and then he moved in with Jun, putting the distance between he and Mingyu instead. Mingyu hates it, but he’s dealt with it. He’s glad the younger boy is here now, though. 

“You didn’t trip.” Minghao laughs as he pulls back from the hug, fixing Mingyu’s cap for him. He’s not as tall as Mingyu, but he’s almost there, making it easy for him to adjust the flimsy thing. 

“No, I didn’t.” Mingyu huffs out. He grins and flicks his tassel out of his face. “I believe we made a bet about that years ago. You owe me.”

“We never shook on it.” Minghao replies, and then- “Now please go see your family, because your mom has been crying since they announced your name and I need someone else to console her for me.” 

Mingyu chuckles, but does as told, patting Minghao’s shoulder once more before he makes his way through the crowd that’s accumulated around them. Seungkwan is crying into his mom’s shoulder, Vernon has a death grip around his younger sister, Soonyoung is still attached to Chan’s side while the younger attempts to talk to his parents. Mingyu cracks a smile and then continues on to where his family is standing, talking to Seungcheol about who know’s what. 

They’ve been in town all week, so Mingyu really isn’t in a rush to get to them. They’ve gone to dinner at all of his favorite places, have been on multiple campus tours, were drug through the Kappa house and shown Mingyu’s  _ President’s _ room. It’s been a good week, he does have to admit. He didn’t realize how much he had missed them until he had all three of them back again. 

“Oh, my baby!” his mother says dramatically upon seeing him, cutting off whatever his father had been saying to Seungcheol. She rushes forward and wraps Mingyu up into a hug, her shorter arms struggling to reach all the way around him. 

“Mom.” Mingyu groans, his arms glued to his side due to her grip. “You saw me an hour ago.” 

“Yes, but now you’re a college  _ graduate.” _ she explains. She doesn’t let him go, just shifts so that she’s wrapped around his side, allowing him a little more movement. 

“You sound like Soonyoung.” 

“I love Soonyoung.” she scoffs. And it’s true, Soonyoung had stolen all of the mother’s hearts upon meeting them all during Mother’s Weekend for Kappa. He’s now her favorite, save for Wonwoo. She’s always had a soft spot for the older boy, which Mingyu can totally understand. 

_ Speaking of Wonwoo. _

“You FaceTimed Wonwoo, right?” Mingyu asks, peering down at his mom. She looks back up at him, a flash of panic shooting across her face before she composes herself and nods. Mingyu doesn’t buy it. “You didn’t forget, right? Mom!” 

“I didn’t forget!” his mom protests, pulling away from him at once. “I promise. We FaceTimed him, he said to call him later.” 

Mingyu was planning on doing that anyways, but he just nods, a sigh of relief escaping him. He would have hated himself for the rest of eternity if Wonwoo had missed out on him graduating. He’ll never admit it, but he hates when Wonwoo misses out on things, especially important things like graduation. 

Wonwoo, after graduating with his bachelor’s degree in Psychology, had decided to continue his education at a graduate school four hours away from Pledis. It was an option he and Mingyu had talked immensely about, but in the end, they had decided that it would be the best for Wonwoo. It broke Mingyu, watching as Wonwoo drove away at the end of that summer, leaving him back at the university for another two years. He felt as if a piece of him had left with Wonwoo that day, but he was happy for the older nonetheless. 

Wonwoo is now two years into graduate school, two years away from being a licensed  _ psychologist, _ and Mingyu has never been so proud of someone in his life. It sucks that the older boy couldn’t make it to his graduation because of his finals, but Mingyu will never hold it against him. His dreams and aspirations are more important, anyways. 

“Congratulations, son.” his father voices, bringing Mingyu back from his thoughts. He smiles at his dad and leans in for a short hug, before pulling away and turning to his little sister. She’s already grinning up at him, her eyebrows pulled together in a devious way, and Mingyu sighs. 

“What?” 

“Nothing!” she says quickly, and then dives in for a hug of her own, burying her face into Mingyu’s chest. Mingyu sighs again and wraps his arms around her. He was never all that close to his little sister, but he’s missed her a lot, he does have to admit. Even if she can be annoying at times.

“Where are we going to dinner?” she asks when they pull away, staring up at Mingyu with questioning eyes. Mingyu snorts and turns to his mom, who’s already sighing. 

“That’s all you have to say to your older brother who’s just graduated?” she groans, scolding the younger of the two. His sister doesn’t even look sorry, just nods while Mingyu laughs lightly. “Besides, I don’t think we’ll be going out to eat tonight. Or at least, Mingyu won’t be joining us.” 

“Um, why not?” Mingyu asks, suddenly confused, his smile slipping off of his face. He doesn’t have any other obligations with the university, his stuff is already packed up and ready to be moved out of the Kappa house, and all of his other friends and their families were going to go eat with them anyways, so he doesn’t know why he wouldn’t be eating with them. Did he piss someone off? Does he have something to deal with to get his certificate? 

“Well, that’s why.” his mom replies, a smirk forming on her face as she points behind Mingyu. Mingyu quirks an eyebrow and whips around, searching for whatever his mom is pointing at. 

He finds Soonyoung, no longer attached to Chan, but instead wrapped around Jihoon. Joshua is standing next to him, congratulating Vernon and Seungkwan, who are busy trying to tell Seungkwan’s mom to stop taking pictures of them. Minghao looks annoyed while Jun tries to place a random kiss on his cheek. Jeonghan just looks done with everyone. It’s a normal scene from their group, crazy and uncoordinated, he doesn’t know why his mom is pointing at them- 

_ Oh. _

Mingyu suddenly can’t breath. It’s like the world stops moving, everything freezes but himself and  _ Wonwoo. _ The older is standing beside Jun, grinning at him, dressed in a nice, button up shirt and dress pants. 

_ That fucker, _ Mingyu thinks. The world starts moving again as Mingyu quickly paces towards the older boy, his smile growing the closer he gets. He doesn’t even give Wonwoo a chance to say anything before he wraps his arms around him and picks him up, twirling him around like they’re in a fucking  _ Hallmark _ movie scene. 

He leans down and captures Wonwoo’s lips in his, immediately deepening the kiss when Wonwoo leans up into him. Mingyu hasn’t seen him since January, seeing as how their spring breaks hadn’t lined up, and he just really fucking missed him, okay? He sets Wonwoo back down on his feet and reaches up with both of his hands, taking the sides of Wonwoo’s face into his palms and grinning down at him. 

“I missed you so much.” 

“Yeah, me too.” Wonwoo admits, shy and quiet. Mingyu leans down and kisses him again, a small peck placed on the corner of his mouth, and then leans his forehead down onto the older’s. 

“You lied.” 

“You really thought I’d miss your graduation?” Wonwoo chuckles, placing both of his hands on Mingyu’s hips and drawing him closer. “I’d never miss it. We finished a week ago.” 

“You  _ lied.” _ Mingyu repeats. He isn’t mad, just surprised, because Wonwoo had been so convincing. He even had Mingyu crying over the phone the first time he told him he couldn’t make it. He’s shocked, to say the least. 

“I’m sorry, but I wanted to surprise you.” Wonwoo says. His voice is still quiet, speaking to Mingyu and Mingyu only. 

“Well, it worked.” Mingyu sighs. “I really thought my mom had sat there and held you up on the phone so you could see.” 

“No.” Wonwoo laughs, and leans down so that his head is now wedged in between Mingyu’s neck and shoulder. “God, I missed you so much.” 

Mingyu doesn’t reply, just wraps Wonwoo back up into a hug, pressing a light kiss into his hair. He then pats at it, holding the older as close as possible, reveling in the touch. It’s probably the one thing he’s missed the most about Wonwoo, how they just seem to mold into each other. The lack of physical contact has about drove Mingyu crazy. 

“Mom! Stop taking pictures of them!” 

“Oh, hush it, Boo Seungkwan! They’re adorable! Why aren’t you and Hansol like that, sometimes I think you hate each other!” 

The moment now ruined, Mingyu and Wonwoo pull away from each other, laughing with the rest of their group. Mingyu looks up and finds Seungkwan glaring at his mother, his face beet red while Vernon cackles next to him. He then glances back over at his own parents, where he finds his mom crying again, while his sister laughs at her and his dad just looks helpless. He sighs and reaches down to tangle his fingers together with Wonwoo’s, before he leads his boyfriend over to his family. 

“You all lied to me.” he says upon arriving, deciding he’s going to  _ milk it _ for a long, long time. His father’s expression doesn’t change while his mom just shrugs, his sister laughing harder. He sighs.  

“We all wanted it to be a surprise.” his mom explains, wiping at her eyes. “Clearly it was. You about scarred your sister.” 

“I’ve seen worse.” his sister begins. “One time over winter break when he brought Wonwoo home for the first time I walked in and they were-” 

“No!” Mingyu interrupts her, because his parents  _ know _ he and Wonwoo have sex, but it doesn’t need to be said  _ aloud. _ Wonwoo chuckles from beside him and leans into him a little, swinging their hands back and forth. His dad grimaces. His mom sighs, as if she’s exasperated. His sister glares at him. 

“Anyways,” he begins, “-what are you guys going to do?” 

“Oh, kicking us to the curb already? You have more important things to do?” his mom jokes, though Mingyu knows she isn’t being serious. He nods anyways, and holds up his and Wonwoo’s conjoined hands. 

“Yes.” 

Wonwoo begins to protest, because he’s  _ polite, _ but Mingyu cuts him off. 

“We’ll be leaving now.” he tells his parents, who both just laugh at him, before nodding. Wonwoo stops him from leaving, though. 

“Thank you for helping me keep it a secret.” he says to them, genuine smile spread across his face. If he wasn’t attached to his side, Mingyu’s mom probably would have forced a hug on him. She just grins at the older boy and nods. 

“Of course, Wonwoo.” she says. “Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.” 

Wonwoo snorts and nods, and then Mingyu begins to pull him away, not sure where he’s going but just wanting to get  _ away. _ He wants to spend time with his family and friends, he really does, but Wonwoo is here and honestly, at the moment, he’s the most important thing on the planet, so fuck everything else. 

They walk. They don’t say anything, Mingyu just leads Wonwoo by the hand, weaving them through the crowds of people still standing around and taking pictures. Mingyu is glad that his mom isn’t really a picture person, because that’s the last thing he wants to be doing right now. He pities the poor kids he has to walk by that are being forced to pose seven different ways with the same person. 

Eventually they make it through the mass of people, which only leaves them with about a block left to walk. Mingyu decides on bringing Wonwoo back to the Kappa house, mostly because he needs to  _ get out of the fucking gown, _ but also because it’s probably the quietest place on campus right now. The only people left are the seniors who have yet to move out yet. 

Once inside, Mingyu drags Wonwoo up to his room, where he shuts the door behind him and then promptly tugs his gown over his head. When he resurfaces, Wonwoo is already spread across his empty bed, gazing up at the ceiling. 

“Hey, remember the hole?” Mingyu asks, slinging his gown over the back of his desk chair, before flopping down next to Wonwoo on the bed. Wonwoo turns and grins at him, nodding his head. 

“It’s still there.” Mingyu points in the general direction of where the hole is, which has Wonwoo cackling. They had put it there when Wonwoo had helped Mingyu move his stuff back in after winter break. Mingyu thought he was stronger than he actually was, had dropped Wonwoo in the middle of making out with him, and had caused the older boy’s head to put a dent in the wall. 

“Did you report it?” 

“Yeah. No one’s come and fixed it yet.” Mingyu snorts and Wonwoo’s grin grows bigger. He flops his arm over Mingyu’s chest and then flips over, resting his head on the younger’s stomach and smiling up at him. Mingyu sighs and brings his arm down, immediately carding his fingers through Wonwoo’s hair. 

“‘M gonna miss this place.” he mumbles, admitting what he hasn’t said out loud yet. Wonwoo nods slowly, understanding. He had cried when he left the Theta house for the last time. 

“You lived here for two and a half years.” Wonwoo points out. Mingyu lived in the ‘Kappa Mansion’ his second semester of his sophomore year, his entire junior year, and then his entire senior year as the president. He only applied for the position because Seokmin made him, saying he wanted to pass on the title to someone he  _ trusted _ (which wasn’t Chan or Vernon, for whatever reason). 

Mingyu took on the challenge, got the position, but had ultimately had Chan help him for most of his term because of how  _ hard _ the job actually was. He doesn’t know how Seungcheol, Soonyoung, and Seokmin did it by themselves. Especially Seokmin; the boy had surprised everyone and used his  _ music degree _ and various science electives to apply for medical school, scoring a 520 on the MCAT and then getting accepted into  _ Harvard. _ He’s now killing it up there, learning to be a doctor and all, and Mingyu would be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous of him. 

But it’s whatever. He’s going to be a teacher, wants to help kids who struggle like he once had, and he honestly cannot wait. 

“You know, I’m really proud of you.” Wonwoo mumbles into Mingyu’s shirt, pulling the younger boy out of his reminiscent thoughts. “My ‘lil history teacher.” 

Mingyu grins. “Thanks.” 

“Didn’t think you were gonna make it there for awhile. Thought you were going to pull a Seungcheol.” 

Seungcheol had shocked everyone when he told them all, the  _ day _ after he graduated, that he was staying back and being the Kappa house dad for the upcoming school year. Jeonghan had screamed at him, because the  _ plan _ was for Seungcheol to join him and Joshua about 45 minutes south, where Joshua and Jeonghan would teach at the high school and Seungcheol would open his own bar  _ like he had always wanted to. _ Now they all laugh about it, because the three oldest boys are as happy as they can be living their confusing, intermingled lives, but back then it hadn’t been funny at all. 

“You ass.” Mingyu swats at Wonwoo’s arm. 

“I’m just joking.” Wonwoo chuckles, digging down deeper into Mingyu’s shirt. “I always knew you could do it. Even when you thought you wanted to be a politician.” 

Mingyu shudders as he remembers the brief three month period during his junior year where he had wanted to work for the government. He’s really glad he dodged that bullet, because he’s positive he would have dropped out of college by now. 

“Well, it really is all thanks to you.” Mingyu says, switching the tone from joking to serious. Wonwoo was the one to force him to take an introduction to teaching class, which ultimately had him falling in love with the idea of teaching middle school kids three weeks in. 

“Nah, it was all your doing.” Wonwoo peers up at Mingyu through his eyelashes, small smile on his face. “You’re going to be a great teacher.” 

Mingyu doesn’t say anything back, just pulls Wonwoo up to him and nuzzles his face down into the older’s neck. Wonwoo, who’s basically laying on top of him, wraps his arms around his neck and holds him tight. They stay like that for a few moments, just enjoying each other’s company, until Mingyu pulls back. 

“I know you’re going to be a big shot psychologist and all, but I’ll do my best-” 

“I’d still love you even if you were a trash man, idiot.” Wonwoo cuts him off. “Don’t even talk about salary differences or work hours or anything else you usually text me about at three in the morning. I’m proud of you and I love you and we’re going to make it work.” 

“Yeah?” Mingyu asks, quiet, sheepish. Wonwoo nods. 

“Yeah. We are.” 

“So you see a future with me?” 

“I saw a future with you a month after I met you.” Wonwoo props his elbows up on the either side of Mingyu’s head, and peers down at him. “Why are you suddenly acting so weird?” 

“It’s a big step.” Mingyu swallows the lump in his throat. “Leaving college, entering the real world. I don’t know if I’m ready, I’m nervous.” 

Wonwoo sighs, and smiles. He brushes the hair off of Mingyu’s forehead. “Well, it’s a good thing you have me, accomplished real-world liver.” 

“You still eat takeout every night and the last time I visited your apartment, you hadn’t done laundry in two weeks.” 

“Minor details.” 

Mingyu cackles. He leans up and kisses Wonwoo, softly, and then pulls back, sighing. 

“You’re ready.” Wonwoo says as he sits up off of Mingyu’s chest. He pulls the younger up with him. Mingyu shifts him so that he’s on his lap, his knees on either side of his hips, bracketing him in. 

“You sure?” 

“Positive. We’ll eat takeout and not do laundry together until we figure it out.” 

“Is this you asking me to move in with you?” Mingyu asks quietly. They’ve talked about it, where Mingyu is going to go after he graduates, but they never came to a decision. Mingyu has a lot of job offers, could go anywhere he wants, really, but what he  _ wants _ is to go back with Wonwoo. He needs a job, though. 

“Well, yes. Listen. My teacher’s husband is the principal at one of the middle schools in town and they’re hiring right now, and so I asked her about it, and she said they want a fresh, young face, so I mentioned you and so basically if you just apply you have the job and-” 

“Wait, what?” Mingyu stops Wonwoo from rambling by bringing his hands up to the older’s face, holding onto his cheeks and peering into his eyes. “What are you even talking about?” 

“I gave her all of your unofficial transcripts, gave her references from where you did your student teaching, all that kind of stuff, and she gave them to her husband. He said that you just need to fill out an application and then come in for an interview so he can say you did, and you’d have the job. Not a lot of people applied but-” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Mingyu cuts Wonwoo off again. He rubs the pads of his thumbs over Wonwoo’s cheekbones, watching as the older cowers under his gaze. 

“I didn’t know if you’d...want that. To move in with me.” 

“Wonwoo, I’d follow you anywhere.” Mingyu admits. It’s quiet for a few moments, and then-

“That was really greasy.” 

“But it’s true.” Mingyu continues, ignoring the joke Wonwoo tries to make. “I would. I want to be with you, Wonwoo, until the end, and if that means moving in with you and taking this job, then that’s what I’m doing. It doesn’t sound so bad, anyways, waking up next to you every morning.” 

“I want you to be confident in us. I’m not ever letting you go, you’re literally going to have to kill me to get rid of me. I love you so much, I want this, I want us, okay?” 

Wonwoo takes a deep breath, and nods. His eyes are a little teary, but Mingyu doesn’t comment on it. 

“Is this you proposing to me?” Wonwoo says, slightly watery. Mingyu snorts. 

“No, but someday I want to.” Mingyu taps Wonwoo’s butt, motioning for the older to get off of him. “For now, we’re going to go get something to eat, and then we’re going to meet up with my family and tell them I’m headed home with you.” 

“Well, not home, but-” 

“No.” Mingyu stands up and spins Wonwoo around, facing him head on. “Home. We’re headed home. Anywhere with you is home.” 

Wonwoo goes quiet again, as he bites at his lip. “That was pretty greasy too.” 

Mingyu laughs, wholeheartedly this time, and pulls Wonwoo into his chest. Wonwoo molds into him, clutching at his shirt and sighing. 

“Where do you want to eat?” Mingyu asks, changing the topic from sappy to food-related. He’s starving and if he has to stand here and confess his love for Wonwoo anymore, he might wither away. Plus, they have their whole lives to do that. 

“I don’t know.” Wonwoo mumbles, shrugging in Mingyu’s arms. Mingyu sighs; Wonwoo does this, he  _ never _ picks where they’re going to eat, Mingyu needs to invest in one of those stupid spinner things. 

“Hm.” Mingyu thinks on it, and then- “There’s this little cafe downtown that I like. It has pretty good sandwiches, and killer mac and cheese. How about that?” 

Wonwoo, knowing  _ exactly _ what Mingyu is talking about, grins up at his boyfriend and nods. Mingyu smiles back down at him and then releases him from his arms. 

“Of course, you can’t get a drink, because I’m not loaded.” 

“Shut up.” Wonwoo mutters and punches Mingyu’s bicep, lightly, laughing the entire time. Mingyu chuckles and places a kiss on the boy’s forehead, before he heads off to find his wallet and car keys. 

“I’m just kidding, you know I love you.” 

“Yeah, I know. Love you too.” Wonwoo mumbles; Mingyu knows there’s an eyeroll behind it. He smirks and grabs his keys off of his desk, and then his wallet, which he pauses to look at before pocketing it. 

He has one of Wonwoo’s graduation pictures stuffed in the front pocket, the one that has the clear slip over it so that you can see it from the outside. Wonwoo complains about it  _ all _ the time; he claims that you’re supposed to keep pictures on the inside, where no one else can see them. 

Mingyu doesn’t care though. Wonwoo looks good, smiling underneath a tree on the campus, wearing a red shirt and a pair of black, ripped jeans. He has his glasses on and his nose is scrunched up in the adorable way that it does when he grins from ear to ear. Mingyu had been behind the cameraman, making him laugh. 

He’ll never hide it in the inside of his wallet. He loves the little picture so much, wants to show it off to anyone and everyone he meets. He’s proud of his relationship with Wonwoo, would never want to hide something so precious. He doesn’t care if Wonwoo doesn’t get it. 

He smiles down at his wallet and then pockets it in his jeans, before he turns to Wonwoo and holds out his hand. Wonwoo takes it, tangles their fingers together, and then they’re off, heading down to the car. 

Mingyu smiles the entire time. He’s missed this. 


End file.
